Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis women's basketball (11-12, 8-3 NEC) pulled away from Bryant (6-16, 4-7 NEC) in the fourth quarter as the Red Flash extended its winning streak to five games with a 78-66 victory over the Bulldogs on Monday evening at DeGol Arena. Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led SFU with 28 points, while Courtney Zezza (Plum, PA/Plum) recorded 10 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.
 
Robinson Fruchtl's Reaction
"We are happy with our two wins this weekend," Interim Head Coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl said. "I told the team we have basically three weekends left. It's amazing how fast the season goes. Hats off to Mary Burke and her team. Bryant always competes really hard."
 
First Quarter Recap

• Saint Francis took an early 11-7 lead following a Kovatch three-pointer with just under four minutes to play in the opening period
• Aunesha Williams' (Miami, FL/McEachern (Morgan State)) layup put the Red Flash ahead 16-12 with 1:29 left
• Kovatch connected on a trey with 14 seconds remaining to give SFU a 21-15 lead at the end of the first frame

Second Quarter Recap

• The Red Flash opened the second period on an 11-2 run as Saint Francis seized a 32-17 lead following a Leah Morrow (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Africentric) layup with 6:11 to play
• Bryant responded with a 14-4 run as the Bulldogs pulled within five at 36-31 with 39 seconds remaining
• The teams traded three-pointers in the final 16 seconds as SFU led 39-34 at halftime

Third Quarter Recap

• Bryant came out of the break hot as the Bulldogs snagged a 40-39 lead just underway in the third period
• Zezza's layup with 4:35 to go put the Red Flash back in front 50-44
• Saint Francis led 54-49 before back-to-back Bryant layups in the final minute cut the Red Flash's advantage to 54-53 at the end of the third frame

Fourth Quarter Recap

• SFU opened the final period on a 7-0 run as a Sam Sabino (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven (New Hampshire)) layup put the Red Flash ahead 61-53 with just over eight minutes remaining
• The Saint Francis lead grew to 71-55 following Haley Thomas' (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) old-fashioned three-point play with 4:54 to go
• Jada Dapaa's (Potomac, MD/Holy Child) layup with 1:32 left gave the Red Flash's its largest lead of the game at 75-57
• Bryant scored two three-pointers in the final 32 seconds, but it was too little, too late as the Red Flash secured its fifth straight win

Notes

• Zezza tied the Saint Francis all-time career blocks record with 278 rejections. She is deadlocked with Cheril Meier's mark that has stood for 33 years
• Kovatch scored six three-pointers for the fifth time this season
• Saint Francis shot a solid 51.7% (31-of-60) from the floor, including 35.0% (7-of-20) from three-point range
• Both teams both recorded 36 rebounds
• Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) had four of SFU's 12 steals
• Saint Francis pounded the ball down low as the Red Flash had 48 points in the paint compared to Bryant's 30 points inside
• SFU scored 19 points off 18 Bulldogs turnovers

Up Next
Saint Francis returns to action when the Red Flash travel to play at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.