Red Flash travel to Sacred Heart for NEC Tournament semifinals

Loretto, Pa. – Fourth-seeded Saint Francis women's basketball (15-6, 11-7 NEC) looks to keep its season alive at second-seeded Sacred Heart (19-11, 14-4 NEC) in the NEC Tournament semifinals on Thursday, March 14 at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN3.

Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers are the hottest team in the league, winning six straight games and nine of its last 10. SHU advanced to the semifinals with a convincing 68-51 win over seventh-seeded Wagner in the quarterfinals on Monday. Sacred Heart, who has qualified for the NEC Tournament every year since it joined the league in 1999, owns the longest active streak for consecutive appearances (20). The Pioneers have the NEC's second-best scoring defense, allowing only 59.5 points per game. SHU is second in the league in field goal percentage defense (39.1%) and first in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.7%). Katherine Haines was named to the NEC's All-Conference First Team and is the team's leading scorer and rebounder with 16.9 ppg and 9.0 rpg. Candice Leatherwood was named Second Team All- Conference, while Adrianne Hagood and Erin Storck landed on the Third Team.

Series History
Sacred Heart leads the all-time series 24-15, including a 16-4 mark when playing at the Pitt Center. The teams split the regular season series, with each team winning in dominant fashion on their respective home courts. The Pioneers faced the Red Flash in the semifinals of last year's tournament with SFU winning 78-47 in Loretto.

Kovatch joins elite group as NEC Player of the Year
Senior guard Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) became the fourth member of an elite group by capturing the NEC Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season. Kovatch, the nation's active leading scorer and three-point shooter, joined Mount St. Mary's alumna Vanessa Blair (1990, 1991), former Mountaineer Susie Rowlyk (1993, 1994) and Robert Morris graduate Aretmis Spanou (2013, 2014) as the only women in league history to win back-to-back NEC Player of the Year honors.

Red Flash postseason success
Saint Francis has the most tournament wins (47) and most NEC titles (12) of any conference team. SFU has made it through to the semifinal round more often than any NEC program. The Red Flash have been amongst the Tournament's final four on 18 occasions, and proceeded to advance to the Championship Game 17 times.

The road to the NEC Championship
Top-seeded Robert Morris hosts sixth-seeded Mount St. Mary's in the other semifinal on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Colonials would host the Championship game on Sunday with a win over the Mountaineers. If Mount pulls off the upset, then the winner of Saint Francis at Sacred Heart would host the title contest. The Championship game at the highest remaining seed will be nationally televised on ESPNU on Sunday, March 17 at 2 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Jess Kovatch: G; 5' 9"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#23 Jess Kovatch
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

Players Mentioned

#23 Jess Kovatch

Players Mentioned

#23 Jess Kovatch