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Saint Francis University Athletics

Haley Thomas
64
Winner Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA 4-9,2-0 NEC
52
Central Conn. St. CCSU 1-12,0-2 NEC
Winner
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA
4-9,2-0 NEC
64
Final
52
Central Conn. St. CCSU
1-12,0-2 NEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Saint Francis (PA) SF-PA 21 10 13 20 64
Central Conn. St. CCSU 13 12 16 11 52

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | David Halstead

Red Flash use well-balanced team effort to defeat CCSU, 64-52

New Britain, Conn. – Saint Francis women's basketball (4-9, 2-0 NEC) used a well-balanced team effort to defeat Central Connecticut State (1-12, 0-2 NEC) 64-52 on Saturday at Detrick Gymnasium. Haley Thomas (Hooversville, PA/Bishop McCort) led SFU in scoring with 14 points, while Karson Swogger (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis) added 12 points and Jenna Mastellone (New York City, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) had nine points.

The Red Flash stormed out to an 11-4 lead following a Phee Allen (Newport News, VA/Woodside) jumper with 5:49 to play in the first period. The Blue Devils pulled within 14-11 before SFU closed the period on a 7-2 run that was capped with a Lili Benzel (Altoona, PA/Bishop Guilfoyle (Shippensburg)) triple to give the Red Flash a 21-13 lead at the end of the first stanza.

A Sam Sabino (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven (New Hampshire)) layup extended the Saint Francis lead to 27-18 with 5:56 left in the third quarter. CCSU then scored seven straight points to cut the margin to 27-25 with 3:58 to go in the frame. Swogger's jumper with 34 seconds remaining gave the Red Flash a 31-25 halftime advantage.

A Mastellone three-pointer put Saint Francis ahead 34-29 with 7:10 to play in the third quarter. The teams continued to battle back-and-forth and were tied 36-36 before a 6-2 SFU run put the Red Flash ahead 42-38. Mastellone scored a breakaway layup at the buzzer to give Saint Francis a 44-41 lead at the end of the third stanza.

Thomas' layup put SFU in front 51-45 with 6:09 remaining in the contest. The Red Flash continued to extend its lead to 58-48 following a Jada Dapaa (Potomac, MD/Holy Child) layup with just under three minutes left. Saint Francis converted on 6-of-8 free throws in the final 1:15 and the defense held strong to secure the victory.
 
Inside the Box Score
  • SFU shot 25-of-60 (41.7%) from the floor, including 6-of-21 (28.6%) from three-point range and 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the free throw line.
  • The Red Flash held a 47-46 rebounding advantage.
  • Saint Francis had 14 assists, six of which came from Allen.
  • Dapaa recorded a team-high nine rebounds.
  • SFU pounded the ball down low, scoring 32 points in the paint compared to CCSU's 18 points inside.
  • Saint Francis scored 22 points off the bench. 
Notes
  • The Red Flash start NEC play 2-0 for the third straight season.
  • SFU improves to 32-13 in the all-time series with CCSU.
  • The Red Flash have won four of the past five meetings with the Blue Devils.
  • Swogger scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and seventh time in the past eight outings.
  • Mastellone's nine points were a season-high and only one point off her career-high 10 points set against Montana on Dec. 16, 2018.
Up Next
Saint Francis continues a three-game road swing to open NEC play as the Red Flash play at Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Tipoff on Education Day is set for 11 a.m.
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