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Saint Francis University Athletics

Swogger
www.jdcavrich.com
68
Winner Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA 16-16
60
Sacred Heart SH 19-12
Winner
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA
16-16
68
Final
60
Sacred Heart SH
19-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA 17 17 20 14 68
Sacred Heart SH 22 13 15 10 60

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | David Halstead

Red Flash headed back to NEC Championship game with 68-60 semifinal win at Sacred Heart

Fairfield, Conn. – Saint Francis women's basketball (16-16, 11-7 NEC) played an inspired game from wire to wire to overcome second-seeded Sacred Heart (19-12, 14-4 NEC) in a 68-60 NEC Tournament semifinal win on Thursday at the Pitt Center. Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) led the Red Flash with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) added 16 points and seven boards.
 
Robinson Fruchtl's Reaction
"We are happy to be moving back into the championship on Sunday," Interim Head Coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl said. "I'm so proud of these guys. I'm proud of all of our players, from the ones that didn't play a minute to the ones that played several minutes. They just gave it their all and that's something we talked about."
 
First Quarter Recap
  • Sacred Heart jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the opening minutes
  • Swogger and Kovatch knocked down three-pointers to trim the Pioneers' lead to 14-8 with 3:41 remaining
  • Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) made 1-of-2 free throws with 16 seconds to go as the Red Flash trailed 22-17 at the end first frame
Second Quarter Recap
  • Sacred Heart took a 26-16 lead after back-to-back layups in the first two minutes of the period
  • Caitlin Carroll's (Middletown, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) three-pointer followed by a Leah Morrow (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Africentric) jumper pulled the Red Flash within three at 29-26 with 3:06 to go
  • Thomas connected on a three-pointer with 1:26 left to tie the game at 32-32
  • Swogger made 2-of-2 from the free throw line with less than a second to go as SFU trailed 35-34 at halftime
Third Quarter Recap
  • The Pioneers used consecutive three-pointers to grab a 41-36 advantage with 7:55 to play in the period
  • Back-to-back Swogger and Kovatch trifectas helped the Red Flash surge to its first lead of the game at 44-43 with 5:03 remaining
  • Aunesha Williams (Miami, FL/McEachern (Morgan State)) forced a steal and found Phee Allen (Newport News, VA/Woodside) for a layup to put SFU ahead 52-47 with 43 seconds to go
  • Saint Francis held a 54-50 lead at the end of the third stanza
Fourth Quarter Recap
  • After a scoreless first three minutes of the final period, a Thomas layup sparked a 7-0 run that was capped off with Sabino's layup to give the Red Flash a 61-50 advantage with 5:40 remaining in the contest
  • Sacred Heart pulled within four at 61-57 on a jumper with 1:41 to play
  • Sabino and Kovatch went a combined 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 32 seconds to seal the win and send the Red Flash back to the NEC Championship game
Notes
  • Saint Francis has now won 18 of its 19 NEC Tournament semifinal appearances
  • The Red Flash have advanced to the Championship game seven times in the last 11 years
  • SFU defeated Sacred Heart in the tournament semifinals for the second-straight year
  • The Red Flash converted from the free throw line at a high rate, going 16-of-20 (80.0%) from the charity stripe
  • Saint Francis had a narrow 36-35 advantage on the boards
  • SFU scored 18 points off 19 Pioneers turnovers
  • Swogger's 16 points were the most she had scored since netting 17 points on Dec. 1 at Longwood
  • Thomas nearly had a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds
Up Next
Fourth-seeded Saint Francis travels to top-seeded Robert Morris for the NEC Championship game on Sunday, March 17. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU at 2 p.m.
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