Women's Basketball 2/8/2019 3:39:00 PM David Halstead

Saint Francis to honor Zinobile as part of Legends Night on Saturday

Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis women's basketball (9-12, 6-3 NEC) returns to DeGol Arena for Legends Night as the Red Flash honor SFU great Jess Zinobile prior to Saturday's game at 4 p.m. vs. Central Connecticut State (6-13, 3-6 NEC). Zinobile will be recognized in a ceremony at 3:30 p.m. as her jersey will be hung in the rafters inside DeGol Arena, becoming the first women's basketball player in Saint Francis history to achieve the honor.

SFU will host Bryant (6-14, 4-5 NEC) on Monday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. to close the weekend of play. Both games, including the Zinobile ceremony on Saturday can be seen on NEC Front Row.

Scouting Central Connecticut State
The Blue Devils are coming off two wins last weekend over LIU Brooklyn and Bryant. CCSU defeated the Blackbirds 63-57 on Jan. 28 and used a buzzer-beating three-pointer to knock off the Bulldogs 66-65 on Feb. 2. Senior guard Kiana Patterson leads the team with 17.1 points per game, which ranks fifth in the NEC. The Troy, NY native is also fifth in conference in three-pointers made (51), averaging 2.4 per game. Senior forward Andi Lydon is averaging 8.6 ppg, while sophomore center Ashley Berube (8.5 ppg) ranks fourth in the league in field goal percentage (48.9).

Series History
Saint Francis holds a 28-13 all-time record against CCSU with a 17-4 record inside DeGol Arena. The Blue Devils defeated the Red Flash earlier this season 73-62 on Jan. 19 in New Britain, Conn.

Scouting Bryant
The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back road defeats to Fairleigh Dickinson and CCSU last weekend. Bryant fell 63-53 to the Knights before the dropping the 66-65 heartbreaker to the Blue Devils. Junior forward Sydney Holloway has 14 double-doubles so far this season and 33 for her career, leading the NEC. Holloway ranks ninth in the country for her double-double efforts, averaging a double-double a night with 17.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Senior guard Kierra Palmer currently leads the Bulldogs with 78 assists so far on the season and is ranked second in the NEC in assists per game (3.9). Junior guard Masey Zegarowski has been a major contributor for Bryant in conference play, averaging 10.6 points per game this season against NEC opponents.

Series History
Saint Francis is an even 9-9 all-time against Bryant with a 7-2 record inside DeGol Arena. The Bulldogs knocked off the Red Flash earlier this season 66-63 on Jan. 21 in Smithfield, R.I.

Kovatch named as Top 10 Finalist for Senior CLASS Award
Senior guard Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) has been named as a finalist for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award. The award honors a student-athlete who must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Kovatch is one of 10 NCAA women's basketball student-athletes and the only mid-major player selected as a finalist.

Zezza closing in on Saint Francis all-time blocks record
Senior forward Courtney Zezza (Plum, PA/Plum) sits in second place all-time at SFU with 269 career blocks, which ranks tied for third among active NCAA players. She needs 10 blocks to pass Cheril Meier for first place in Saint Francis history. Zezza leads the league this season and ranks eighth in the nation with 2.8 bpg.

Thomas free throw percentage among nation's best
Sophomore forward Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) is shooting a stellar 96.2% (50-of-52) from the charity stripe this season. Thomas ranks second in the nation in free throw percentage for all competitors with 50 or more attempts.

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