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NEC Player of the Week: Jessica Kovatch, SFU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Aja Boyd, LIU
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NEC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JESSICA KOVATCH, SAINT FRANCIS U
G, So., 5-9, Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg
WEEK 11 STATS: 2 games, 33.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.0 spg, 11 3FGM, .440 FG pct.
Kovatch’s hot hand yielded 67 points in 69 minutes as Saint Francis U moved into a tie for first place last week. Leading SFU in scoring during each of the team’s two wins, the sophomore guard contributed 33.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. Rising to the occasion in Saturday’s featured matchup against previously-unbeaten (in NEC play) Central Connecticut, Kovatch sank nine triples and poured in 45 points to lift the Red Flash to an 87-81 victory. The Garden State product set the conference’s single-game season-high scoring total while becoming the first player since 1999 to hit at least nine three-pointers in a NEC game. Two days later, the conference’s leading scorer (22.4 ppg) netted 22 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 79-67 triumph over Bryant. Contributing in the clutch, Kovatch scored six points during a 1:00 span that saw the Red Flash’s lead jump from five to 12 points with only 00:44 remaining in regulation. Eleven of Kovatch’s 24 field goals came from beyond the arc last week. Her 3.95 three-point field goals per game season average leads all Division I players.
NEC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
AJA BOYD, LIU BROOKLYN
C, Fr., 6-2, Petersburg, VA/Appomattox Regional Governor’s School
WEEK 11 STATS: 2 games, 17.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.0 spg, .536 FG pct.
Boyd delivered her best two-game stretch yet, shooting well over 50 percent from the floor while nearly averaging a double-double during the Blackbirds’ 1-1 week. Leading LIU Brooklyn in both scoring and rebounding, the freshman forward averaged 17.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest against a pair of local rivals. Making more than half her attempts in each of the two games, she accounted for a team-high .536 field goal percentage. Boyd matched her season-high scoring total to help the Blackbirds slam the brakes on a six-game slide. The rookie post player netted 18 points and secured eight caroms in Monday’s 69-64 victory over Wagner. Boyd provided all of the scoring during an 8-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 59-52 advantage with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter. Two days earlier, Boyd accounted for a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds at Fairleigh Dickinson. It was her second career double-double. The native Virginian ranks second on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and first in rebounding (6.4 rpg) this season. She has scored in double figures during seven of her last eight outings.
TWEET SHEET
@CraigCD13
(Jan 23) We hit the conference season’s halfway point following Saturday’s action...we’ll enter Saturday w/SHU and SFU tied in first place at 7-1
@CraigCD13
(Jan 23) Up Next: Pam Roecker and I have the call for SFU at Wagner 2pm Saturday for #NECWBB on ESPN3! Also big CCSU/BRY & RMU/MSM games.
@WBBDaily
(Jan 23) Scoring Phenom Jessica Kovatch is an Inspiration to Overlooked Recruits
@CCurti_Trib
(Jan 23) Random stat: @RedFlashMBB (75.5) and @RedFlashWBB (79.2) lead the @NECsports in scoring offense.
@CoachB_RMU
(Jan 23) No matter what your role is, have the mindset that you will be a servant to your team. Always stay focused on making your teammates better.
@WingWarpReplay
(Jan 23) Another great day of basketball for @NECsports. Three WingWarp play reviews in the @LIUwbb win over @WagnerWHoops 69-64. #NECWBB
@CoachOliverLIU
(Jan 23) #proudcoach RT @LIUAthletics: Boyd Powers @LIUWBB Past Wagner in 69-64 Win
@NelCastBHJ
(Jan 23) I’ve said it before but if Aja Boyd is not on #NECWBB All-Rookie team at season’s end, I’ll be shocked. Went for 18 & 8 tonight. 10.5 ppg
@NECHoopsRon
(Jan 23) It all came down to this...@SHUBigRed’s Shelby Hickey answers the call with a clutch 3PFG in a to-the-wire 49-45 win over Mount. #NECWBB
@ghickey7
(Jan 23) Congrats @SHUBigRed and @jmnetter33 5 W’s in a row. Nice game winning Shot/Reb/FT’s by @shlebhick calm, cool and collected
@CraigCD13
(Jan 23) Every once and a while during a season you have to dig down deep to pull a game out on an off night...tonight was that night for SHU #NECWBB
@NYcoach
(Jan 21) #CONGRATS @CoachJoeHaigh
7-1 !!
Kovatch is a #BALLA
@TheWizOfOz11
(Jan 21) SFU’s Jessica Kovatch has scored 22 points in the 1st half by making 8 of 17 from the field, 4 of 9 from beyond the arc.
@NECcommish
(Jan 21) Hanging out with @LIUAthletics Deputy AD @alaimo59 & @FDUKnights AD David Langford at #NECWBB game. #NECpride
AROUND THE ARC...
• BRYANT senior Alex Klein, a key reason why the Bulldogs pace the circuit in rebounding margin (+6.2/g), picked up her league-leading fifth double-double of the season at Saint Francis U (Jan.23). She ranks second amongst NEC leaders in scoring (16.9 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.3 rpg).
• CENTRAL CONNECTICUT suffered its first two league losses last week, but the Blue Devils still lead the circuit in field goal percentage defense (.355) against NEC opponents.
• FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON used a pair of season highs to snap its slide. The Knights shot a season-best 44.8 percent from the field and logged a season-high 18 assists in a 64-46 triumph over LIU Brooklyn (Jan. 21). In FDU alumni news, former three-time all-NEC forward has inked a professional contract with the Leicester Riders of the Women’s British Basketball League.
• LIU BROOKLYN has two conference victories and the Blackbirds have shot at least 80 percent from the free throw line in both of them. In the final 49 seconds of Monday’s win over Wagner, the tea, went a combined 10-for-12 from the stripe. Overall, the team is making 63.7 percent of its free throw attempts this season. In NEC play, that number rises to 66.9 percent.
• MOUNT ST. MARY’S has held its opponent to 50 points of fewer in each of the past three contests.
• ROBERT MORRIS took advantage of opponents’ turnovers during its two wins last week. The Colonials scored 27 points off 26 turnovers in a victory over Central Connecticut. Two days earlier, RMU came up with 29 takeaways in a 62-46 triumph over Bryant. The 29 turnovers forced are the most by the Colonials since 2013.
• SACRED HEART has been led in scoring by four different women over the past five games – Katherine Haines, Hannah Kimmel, Kelcey Castro and Adaysha Williams. Three of the four are averaging double figures in scoring led by Kimmel (14.7 ppg).
• SAINT FRANCIS U saw five of its players score in double figures during Monday’s win over Bryant. The Red Flash, who force the second-most turnovers per game (20.0) in the NEC, turned 24 Bulldogs’ miscues into 31 points.
• ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN already has as many conference victories as it did all last season. The Terriers moved to 4-4 in NEC play by posting a 66-59 road win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
• WAGNER is receiving the bulk of its scoring from freshmen led by four-time NEC Rookie of the Week Kerstie Phills. Her 11.2 points per contest are the most in the conference amongst freshmen.
QUOTABLE
JOHN THURSTON (ST. FRANCIS BKLYN), Head Coach
“It was a good overall first half, got sloppy in the third quarter – then I think we regained our composure and did a good job managing the clock coming down the stretch. We played great defense. Maria Palarino was terrific tonight. Alex Delaney shot the ball real well, and Olivia (Levey) was tough early.”
- after the Terriers evened their NEC record at 4-4 with a 66-59 road win over Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 23)
CHARLIE BUSCAGLIA (ROBERT MORRIS), Head Coach
“We stayed focused, grabbed some big rebounds, and finished the big shot when things were a bit stagnant. I was proud of them when things got tough and the ball wasn’t going in, and someone like Megan Smith was able to keep it together by making a big basket and getting some tough boards and stops. It was a great effort for her down the stretch and something we really needed.”
- after the Colonials out-scored Central Connecticut by a 16-7 margin over the final 5:51 of a 55-46 triumph in the Sewall Center (Jan. 23).
“It’s amazing when the team looks at you at halftime with so much positive energy when you’re not shooting well. We were in the game at half after one of our worst shooting performances all year. That was a moment where we had to step up and get through it, and we did, and I was very proud of that. Things didn’t come easy, but we earned everything we got in the second half.”
- after the Colonials grinded out 62-46 win over Bryant (Jan. 21). RMU shot 19.4 percent in the first half and rebounded by connecting on 64.2 percent second-half attempts.
PETE CINELLA (Fairleigh Dickinson), Head Coach
“You have to give St. Francis Brooklyn credit for how they started tonight. They took away our movement offensively in the first quarter and came out with an aggressive mindset.”
- after the Knights fell behind early in an eventual 66-59 loss to St. Francis Brooklyn (Jan. 23).
“We have to keep teams off the foul line. This was another game in which we made more field goals than our opponent [24-21].”
- after the Knights were severely out-shot at the charity stripe by St. Francis Brooklyn (Jan. 23). The Terriers made 15 of 21 free throws while the Knights accounted for a 4-for-12 clip from charity stripe.
“Our offense helped our defense today by allowing us to get into our presses and force 22 turnovers.”
- after FDU shot a season-high 44.8 percent from the floor during a 64-46 win over LIU Brooklyn (Jan. 21)
WHERE IT RANKS…
It’s not every game that a player sinks nine three-pointers en-route to a 45-point performance, but it happened on Saturday at Saint Francis U.
Sophomore sharpshooter Jessica Kovatch, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Year, singed the nets at the Stokes Center in a somewhat historic performance that helped the Red Flash deal Central Connecticut its first league loss of the season.
Pouring in 45 points to lead all scorers in Saint Francis’ 87-81 victory, Kovatch jumped into the Top 10 on the NEC’s all-time single-game scoring list. The second-year starter became only the sixth different woman to hit the 45-point mark in a Northeast Conference contest.
Kovatch’s latest point total ranks eighth overall in the history of NEC play, right behind the career-high 46 points that SFU alumna, and NEC Hall of Famer, Jess Zinobile tallied in a 2000 NEC Tournament victory.
Tying for third place in the league’s single-game annals, Kovatch became the first woman since 1999 to hit nine triples in a NEC game.
Kovatch’s three-point shooting prowess is by no means a newfound talent. She led the circuit by nailing 98 shots from beyond the arc as a freshman, the sixth-highest total in the league’s single-season history.
This year, the Garden State product leads all Division I players in three-pointers per game (3.95) and credits SFU’s head coach for the confidence she displays while shooting the basketball.
“I get a lot of confidence from Coach Joe [Haigh] because he always gives me the green light,” Kovatch said during Saturday’s postgame interview with NEC color commentator Joe DeSantis.
Single-Game Scoring Cl Pts Opponent (Date)
1. Jasmine Nwajei (WAG) So 53 Sacred Heart (1/24/16)
2. Jasmine Nwajei (WAG) So 52 %St. Francis Bklyn (2/1/16)
3. Kim Rhock (MSM) Sr 50 Monmouth (2/8/90)
4. Alli Williams (SFPA) Sr 47 %*Sacred Heart (3/9/14)
G. Washington (SHU) Jr 47 %*Saint Francis (PA) (3/9/14)
Alli Williams (SFPA) Sr 47 Wagner (3/3/14)
7. Jess Zinobile (SFPA) Sr 46 *LIU Brooklyn (3/4/00)
8. Jessica Kovatch So 45 CCSU (1/21/17)
% - OT game * - NEC Tournament Game
Three-Pointers Made Cl 3FG Opponent (Date)
1. Jennifer Xiques (LIU) Sr 10 Robert Morris (2/20/95)
Jami Lange (UMBC) Fr 10 LIU Brooklyn (2/22/99)
3. Dawn Coleman (LIU) So 9 Fairleigh Dickinson (1/13/96)
Jean Marie Lesko (MAR) So 9 Fairleigh Dickinson (2/29/96)
Jessica Kovatch (SFPA) So 9 Central Connecticut (1/21/17)
ANNA NIKI MOVIN’ ON UP
She’s now the third-most prolific scorer in Robert Morris’ history.
Senior guard Anna Niki Stamolamprou netted a game-high 20 points in Saturday’s win over Bryant to overtake 2005 RMU Hall of Fame member Elise James (1996-00) for third place on the program’s all-time leader board.
"It's a great accomplishment," said head coach Charlie Buscaglia. "It's a testament to a lot of hard work by being able to come into the system early and taking on a big role. When she came over from Greece, she wanted to have a special experience, and it's been nothing short of special for her thus far."
Her experience has included two NEC titles along with the 2016 NEC Tournament MVP award and multiple all-league accolades.
Stamolamprou, who added 11 points in Monday’s triumph over CCSU, now has 1,581 points for her career and needs 34 more to jump into second place in RMU annals.
The Greek-born scorer is on pace to lead the Colonials in points per game average for the third consecutive season. Her 15.6 points per contest currently lands her third amongst conference leaders.