LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis women's basketball team earned its first win of the season (67-64) by holding off Kent State in DeGol Arena on Wednesday.
 
Saint Francis 67, Kent State 64
Records: Saint Francis (1-4), Kent State (0-2)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
 

KEY MOMENTS
Saint Francis held a five-point lead after three quarters of play. Kent State opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run and led by as many as five points with 7:14 to play. The Red Flash outscored the Golden Flashes 12-4 during the remainder of the game as five SFU players contributed points while the defense prevented KSU from getting easy points and open looks.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Haley Thomas scored the first four points for the Red Flash as SFU led 4-2 after two minutes of play. Kent State took a 7-4 lead before Karson Swogger tied the game at seven with a three-pointer. A pair of Golden Flashes free throws gave the visitors a 9-7 lead at the first quarter media timeout.
 
Kent State pushed its lead to 16-10 with two minutes to play in the first quarter but Saint Francis went on a 7-0 run to take a 17-16 lead. Thomas had the go-ahead basket following a three-pointer from Lili Benzel. KSU hit a three-pointer to take a momentary lead before a pair of free throws from Swogger tied the game at 19 after 10 minutes.
 
The Golden Flashes scored the first six points of the second quarter before Diajha Allen scored five-straight to cut the deficit to 25-24 with 7:47 to play in the first half. Allen started a 9-0 run for SFU as it held a 28-25 lead with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Kent State responded with a 9-0 run of its own to take a 34-28 lead and got one to fall before the buzzer to lead 36-32 going into the locker room.
 
Both teams were scoreless for the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half before Allen got Saint Francis on the board first. A three-pointer from Jenna Mastellone cut the Kent State lead to one before Thomas gave SFU its first lead since 4:12 remaining in the second quarter. The Red Flash led 41-40 with 5:30 to play in the third quarter.
 
Benzel scored seven points in the final 2:19 of the third quarter as Saint Francis led Kent State 53-48 with 10 minutes to play.
 
The Golden Flashes opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to take a 56-53 lead with eight minutes to play. KSU stretched its lead to five points before a three-pointer from Thomas cut the margin to two with just under seven minutes to play.
 
Sam Miller tied the game at 62 with 3:42 to play after missing the initial shot but getting her own rebound. She blocked the shot on the ensuing KSU possession to give the Red Flash the chance to take the lead. A layup from Mastellone did just that as SFU led 64-62 with 3:18 remaining. Benzel sunk her third long-range shot of the game to increase the lead to 67-62 with 2:46 to play.
 
Kent State hit a pair of free throws with 1:26 on the clock to trim the Saint Francis lead to 67-64. After the Golden Flashes took a timeout, the visitors were able to get to the line but missed both shots. Despite a press from KSU, Saint Francis stood tall defensively and prevented any further scoring to preserve the first Red Flash win of the season.

STATS
The Red Flash won the rebounding battle by a 43-30 margin. SFU outshot KSU from the field (40.4-38.3) and from three-point range (46.7-28). Saint Francis earned more trips to the free-throw line and shot a higher percentage from the line (81.8-68.8). The Red Flash bench contributed 29 points compared to 13 points from the Golden Flashes bench.
 
GAME NOTES

• Allen scored a career-high nine points after scoring two points in her first three games combined.
• Benzel reached double figures for the fourth time in five games to begin the season.
• Katie Dettwiller has recorded a block in four of the first five games.
• Thomas was one rebound shy of a double-double as she led the team with 15 points and nine rebounds.
   

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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.