Brooklyn, N.Y. – Saint Francis women's basketball (6-10, 3-1 NEC) was unable to overcome a third quarter run from St. Francis Brooklyn (9-7, 3-1 NEC) as the Red Flash fell to the Terriers, 78-65, on Monday evening at the Pope Center.
Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led SFU with 20 points and seven rebounds, while
Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) added 13 points for the Red Flash.
Robinson Fruchtl's Reaction
"It was a tough game tonight," Interim Head Coach
Susan Robinson Fruchtl said. "We knew St. Francis Brooklyn was going to be a handful on the road at their place. They sure are an improved team from last year. Credit goes to them for really outplaying us over the course of 40 minutes. We had some good moments. We went on that run to go up ten points in the first half, but just didn't sustain it."
First Quarter Recap
- The Terriers started the game hot with an 8-2 lead in the opening minutes
- Swogger's jumper trimmed the margin to 8-6 with 3:07 to play
- The Red Flash had its first lead of the game at 15-14 following a Swogger three-pointer with 1:14 left
- SFU led 18-14 at end of the first frame
Second Quarter Recap
- Saint Francis had its largest lead of the game at 26-16 after back-to-back Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) layups
- Leah Morrow's (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Africentric) layup put SFU ahead 30-23 with 5:08 to go
- The Terriers pulled within two at 34-32 with 2:47 to play
- Kovatch converted on two free throws with 19 seconds remaining as Saint Francis led 39-34 at halftime
Third Quarter Recap
- SFU led 41-36 following a Thomas jumper at the start of the third period
- St. Francis Brooklyn used a 14-3 run to grab a 50-44 lead with 4:41 remaining
- Courtney Zezza's (Plum, PA/Plum) three-pointer cut the Terriers' lead to 52-49 with just under four minutes to play
- The home team used a 10-0 run to close the quarter as St. Francis Brooklyn held a 62-49 lead at the end of the third frame
Fourth Quarter Recap
- The Terriers' lead grew to 69-53 with less than seven minutes to go
- Morrow's old-fashioned three-point play cut the margin to 69-57 with 4:24 left
- Kovatch pulled the Red Flash within ten on a layup as SFU trailed 71-61 with 1:57 to play
- St. Francis Brooklyn scored the final three points as the Terriers secured the win
Notes
- The Red Flash shot 27-of-69 from the floor, including 5-of-22 from three-point range and 6-of-11 from the free throw line
- Kovatch scored 20 or more points for the eighth straight game and 12th of the last 13 contests
- Thomas had three of the Red Flash's nine steals, while the Terriers had only two takeaways
- St. Francis Brooklyn's size was too much to handle on the boards as the Terriers had a 44-32 rebounding advantage
- The Red Flash scored 24 points in the paint compared to St. Francis Brooklyn's 16 points inside
Up Next
Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday, January 19 at Central Connecticut State. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
