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Saint Francis University Athletics

Haley Thomas
69
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA 2-7,0-0 NEC
72
Winner Duquesne DU 9-2,0-0 Atlantic 10
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA
2-7,0-0 NEC
69
Final
72
Duquesne DU
9-2,0-0 Atlantic 10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA 16 12 20 14 7 69
Duquesne DU 15 16 11 20 10 72

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | David Halstead

Red Flash fall to Duquesne in overtime, 72-69

Pittsburgh, Pa. – Saint Francis women's basketball (2-7) came up just short in a 72-69 overtime defeat to Duquesne (9-2) on Sunday at La Roche. Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) paced the Red Flash with 14 points, while Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) joined her in double figures with 13 points.

SFU led 53-42 with just under nine minutes remaining in regulation before the Dukes began to mount a comeback. Duquesne used an 8-0 run to cut the Red Flash lead to 53-50. A Katie Dettwiller (Portsmouth, Ohio/Notre Dame) layup and a Phee Allen (Newport News, VA/Woodside) jumper in the paint pushed the margin to 57-50 with 4:57 remaining in the contest.

The Dukes gained a 59-57 advantage until Swogger calmly knocked down a three-pointer to put SFU back in front 60-59 with 1:41 left. Jenna Mastellone's (New York City, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) floater in the lane extended the Red Flash lead to 62-59 with 57 seconds to go. Duquesne was then fouled on a three-point attempt with 17 seconds remaining and converted 3-of-3 from the line to tie the game 62-62. Swogger's contested jumper in the final seconds was off the mark to force overtime.

The teams traded baskets at the start of the extra session as Thomas tied the game 66-66 on a layup with 1:45 to play. Following a Duquesne layup, Allen converted on a layup to tie the game 68-68 with 54 seconds left in overtime. The Dukes fed the ball inside again for a layup to take a 70-68 lead with 38 seconds remaining.

Thomas was fouled on a drive to the basket and converted on 1-of-2 free throws to pull within 70-69 with 12 seconds to go. Following an intentional foul, Duquesne knocked down both free throws to extend the lead to 72-69 with 10 ticks on the clock. Saint Francis was unable to get a shot up in the final seconds of overtime as the Dukes secured the victory.

Duquesne jumped out to an early 12-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Lili Benzel's (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle (Shippensburg)) three-pointer sparked a 9-2 Red Flash run as back-to-back Sam Sabino (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven (New Hampshire)) layups capped the spurt and put SFU ahead 16-15 at the end of the first stanza.

A Benzel three-pointer followed by a Swogger jumper gave the Red Flash a 26-24 advantage with 4:04 to play in the second period. SFU led 28-26 when the Dukes closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to hold a 31-28 halftime advantage.

Duquesne held a 38-32 lead before a furious Saint Francis rally. A Thomas layup capped an 11-2 surge to put the Red Flash ahead 43-40 with 3:03 to play in the third quarter. Swogger's clutch three-pointer with 10 seconds to go gave SFU a 48-42 lead at the end of the third frame.
 
Inside the Box Score
  • Saint Francis shot a solid 29-of-61 (47.5%) from the floor, including 7-of-22 (31.8%) from three-point range.
  • The Red Flash won the battle on the boards against a much bigger Duquesne squad, 38-33.
  • SFU recorded a season-high 16 assists, five of which came from Swogger.
  • Dettwiller tallied a career-high three blocks.
  • Both teams scored 40 points in the paint.
  • The score was tied eight times, while the game featured 13 lead changes.
  • The Red Flash scored 20 points off the bench, while the Dukes' reserves only recorded eight points. 
Notes
  • Saint Francis falls to Duquesne for the tenth straight time. The last time the Red Flash pulled out a win over the Dukes was a 66-54 overtime victory on Nov. 20, 2007 in Loretto.
  • It's the second game this season that went to overtime as the Red Flash picked up a 73-69 double overtime win at Vermont on Dec. 1.
  • SFU finishes non-conference true road games with a 1-5 record.
  • Swogger has scored in double figures in three of the past four games. 
Up Next
Saint Francis returns to action to host Liberty on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Tipoff at DeGol Arena is set for 7 p.m.
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