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Saint Francis University Athletics

Kovatch at Bryant
63
Saint Francis (PA) F-600
66
Winner Bryant F-81
Saint Francis (PA) F-600
63
Final
66
Bryant F-81
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Saint Francis (PA) F-600 21 11 12 19 63
Bryant F-81 16 17 21 12 66

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | David Halstead

Red Flash rally comes up short in 66-63 defeat at Bryant

Smithfield, R.I. – Saint Francis women's basketball (6-12, 3-3 NEC) had its furious fourth quarter rally come up just short in a 66-63 defeat to Bryant (5-12, 3-3 NEC) on Monday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center. Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led three Red Flash players in double figures with 14 points, while Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) and Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) added 12 points each.
 
Robinson Fruchtl's Reaction
"Give credit to Bryant," Interim Head Coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl said. "They really battled the whole game. Our team really gutted things out today. We saw improvement. We just have to keep chopping wood week to week as we say and be peaking at the right time come down to March. It's a long season and I was proud of our effort today."
 
First Quarter Recap
  • Saint Francis got off to a red-hot start and held a 10-2 lead following a Kovatch jumper with just under seven minutes to play in the opening period
  • The Red Flash led 15-8 after a Thomas old-fashioned three-point play with 3:05 left
  • Bryant converted on a layup with eight seconds remaining to cut SFU's lead to 21-16 at the end of the first frame
Second Quarter Recap
  • A back-and-forth start to the second quarter saw Saint Francis grab a 25-21 lead on Swogger's layup with 6:34 to play
  • The Red Flash held a 30-24 advantage following Leah Morrow's (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Africentric) trey with 4:09 left
  • The Bulldogs closed the half on a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the game into halftime at 33-32
Third Quarter Recap
  • Both teams came out of the gates in the second half shooting solid as Kovatch's trifecta put SFU ahead 38-36
  • A Swogger layup tied the game 44-44 with just under four minutes to play
  • Bryant closed the period on a 10-0 run as the Bulldogs held a 54-44 run headed into the fourth
Fourth Quarter Recap
  • Saint Francis responded as back-to-back AJ Timbers (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann Gorretti (Towson)) and Kovatch three-pointers to narrow the margin to 58-56 with 6:37 to play
  • Bryant refused to let up as the Bulldogs held a 62-58 lead with 2:19 to go
  • Morrow's layup with 46 seconds remaining pulled the Red Flash within one at 64-63
  • The Bulldogs converted on two free throws with 10.6 seconds left and Swogger's deep triple was off the mark in the final seconds as Bryant held on for the victory
Notes
  • Saint Francis dropped its third straight NEC game for the first time since February 2017
  • Kovatch had her streak of nine straight games with 20 or more points snapped
  • SFU shot 24-of-65 from the floor, including 8-of-30 from three-point range and 7-of-10 from the free throw line
  • Bryant controlled the battle on the boards with a 46-34 rebounding advantage
  • The Red Flash scored 32 points in the paint compared to the Bulldogs' 28 interior points
  • The game was a seesaw affair with eight lead changes and was tied six times
Up Next
Saint Francis returns to the friendly confines of DeGol Arena as the Red Flash host Sacred Heart on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 4 p.m.
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