Loretto, Pa. - Saint Francis women's basketball (4-9, 1-0 NEC) used a strong second quarter surge and a solid defensive effort to overwhelm Fairleigh Dickinson (3-9, 0-1 NEC) in a 75-64 win on Saturday at DeGol Arena. Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) scored a season-high 31 points, while Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) added 13 points for the Red Flash.
Robinson Fruchtl's Reaction
"We are happy to start 1-0 against a very gritty FDU team," Interim Head Coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl said. "Coach Cinella's teams are always really gritty and they scrap it out for 40 minutes. I thought our defense started out a little slow. I will contribute that to Christmas break and not having played for two weeks. Then we became a lot more active and that's what we were talking about in the huddle."
First Quarter Recap
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FDU jumped out to an early 11-7 lead with 5:03 to play in the opening period
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Two Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) free throws tied the game 14-14 with 2:28 remaining
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Saint Francis led 18-16 at the end of the first frame
Second Quarter Recap
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SFU used a 16-4 run to open the second quarter as the Red Flash grabbed a 34-20 lead on a Courtney Zezza (Plum, PA/Plum) layup with 4:23 to play
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Back-to-back Kovatch's three-pointers put Saint Francis ahead 40-23 with just under two minutes to go
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The Red Flash held a 42-27 advantage at halftime
Third Quarter Recap
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Sam Sabino (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven (New Hampshire)) opened the scoring in the third quarter for SFU with a trifecta to give the Red Flash a 45-30 lead with 8:57 to play
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Saint Francis struggled to convert offensively as the Red Flash scored only two points over the next five minutes as FDU cut the lead to 47-36 with 4:42 remaining
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Swogger then went 4-of-4 from the free throw line over the next two minutes to end the SFU scoring skid and put the Red Flash ahead 51-36 with 3:11 to go
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Saint Francis led 61-43 at the end of the third frame following two Aunesha Williams (Miami, FL/McEachern (Morgan State)) layups in the final 33 seconds
Fourth Quarter Recap
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FDU opened the final period with a 10-3 run to trim SFU's lead to 64-53 with 6:29 left
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SFU gained a 70-55 lead following a Thomas layup with 3:33 to go
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Kovatch's layup off a fast break put the Red Flash ahead 75-60 with 1:27 remaining
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FDU scored four points in the final 1:20, but Saint Francis used solid defensive play to secure the victory
Notes
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SFU opened NEC play with a win for the fourth straight season
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The Red Flash defeated the Knights for the sixth straight time
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Kovatch scored her 400th career three-pointer, becoming only the third player in NCAA history to accomplish that feat
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Fairleigh Dickinson won the battle on the boards with a 38-27 rebounding advantage
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Saint Francis scored 29 points off 22 FDU turnovers, while the Red Flash committed only nine turnovers
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SFU dominated the points in the paint, doubling FDU with a 40-20 scoring margin on the interior
Up Next
Saint Francis hosts Mount St. Mary's on Monday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.
