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NEC Player of the Week: Jessica Kovatch, SFU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Nneka Ezeigbo, RMU
Previous NEC Releases: Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason Poll Release | Preseason All-NEC Release
NEC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JESSICA KOVATCH, SAINT FRANCIS U
G, So., 5-9, Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg
WEEK 6 STATS: 4 games, 24.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 spg, 1.3 apg, 4.50 3FGM/game
The reigning NEC Rookie of the Year increased her league lead in scoring last week. She poured in 97 points during the Red Flash’s four-game stretch that began at Coastal Carolina and concluded in Boca Raton. Averaging 24.3 points per contest, Kovatch scored no fewer than 17 points in any of the four contests and set the NEC single-game season scoring high by dropping 37 points on nationally-ranked South Florida. Kovatch, who shot 43.2 percent from the floor, contributed in more than just the scoring column. The 5-foot-9 shooting guard averaged 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.3 assists per outing last week. The Garden State product, who averaged 4.5 three-point field goals per contest, connected at a 38 percent clip from downtown. She sank a single-game program-record nine triples during a 129-80 setback to South Florida.
NEC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
NNEKA EZEIGBO, ROBERT MORRIS
C, Fr., 6-2, Ewing, NJ/Notre Dame HS
WEEK 6 STATS: 1 game, 11 pts, 3 reb, 2 asst., 2 stls, 1 blk, .833 FG pct.
Ezeigbo scored in double figures for the third time in her last four games as Robert Morris powered past Morgan State. The freshman post player shot 83 percent from the floor during the Colonials’ lone game last week, a 58-44 win in Baltimore. Ezeigbo, who was RMU’s second-leading scorer in the road contest, also contributed three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block during 28 minutes of action. The 6-foot-2 center helped the Colonials seize control of the contest early in the second half. She tallied two buckets and secured a carom during a 10-2 run that broke a 25-25 halftime tie. Ezeigbo, who has started the previous eight games, averages 6.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per outing.
TWEET SHEET
@CoachB_RMU
(Dec 18) When you’re lost in the woods,there are 2 options:
A)Argue about how we got here & panic
B)Stay focused, stay together & find your way out
@CoachWhitMSM
(Dec 18) Game day for @TheMountWBB After a week of finals, players are excited to play....
@CCurti_Trib
(Dec 14) Random stat: @Court1823 (Plum) of @SFUathletics WBB leads the @NECsports in blocks (2.43). Teammate Ace Harrison leads in reb, steals, FG%
@coachosterman
(Dec 14) the Bulls had a good night ... but @CoachJoeHaigh and the Red Flash are going to be dancing in March !!! Lots of offense
@jmnetter33
(Dec 12) Big HOME win tonight for @SacredHeartWBB v Siena! Great TEAM effort all around - and @daysh23 scored her 1000th point! #SoProud #united
AROUND THE ARC
BRYANT, which continues to lead the league in rebounding margin (+7.5/game), features three of the NEC’s top-seven ranked field goal shooters – Morgan Olander (.507), Sydney Holloway (.478), Alex Klein (.462).
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT, which is one of five NEC teams converting free throws at greater than 70 percent, sank 14 of 18 (.875) shots from the charity stripe during Sunday’s setback at ACC member Boston College. Junior Aleah Epps, who made her only two attempts against BC, paces the circuit in free throw percentage (.884).
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON forces a league-high 19.8 turnovers per contest, but managed only 13 takeaways in last week’s setback to Saint Peter’s.
LIU BROOKLYN’s four-highest single-game scoring outputs have come in the Blackbirds’ last four contests. LIU has averaged 58.8 points per outing in its last four games, a significant bump from when the Blackbirds scored 48.5 points per contest over the season’s first six games.
MOUNT ST. MARY’S will face a BCS opponent for the third time this season. The Mountaineers, who dropped road games at ACC members Pittsburgh and Maryland in November, close out the non-conference portion of their schedule by visiting Big 12 member West Virginia on December 21.
ROBERT MORRIS has accounted for a pair of sparkling defensive marks thus far this season. The Colonials are allowing a league-low 61.2 points per contest while boasting the NEC’s top-ranked field goal percentage defense (.380).
SACRED HEART’s first two wins of the season came on the road. Last week, the Pioneers picked up their first victory in the Pitt Center, outlasting MAAC member Siena, 62-58, on December 12. SHU, which finished the non-conference portion of its home schedule with a 1-3 record, visits Iowa State on December 21 before returning to Fairfield for its NEC opener against Robert Morris on December 29.
SAINT FRANCIS U, the lone NEC team scoring in excess of 80.0 points per contest, paces the circuit in both field goal (.416) and free throw percentage (.755). The Red Flash also own conference-high averages in assists (15.6 apg), steals (11.0 spg) and blocks (6.6 bpg).
ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN has guarded the three-point shot better than any other NEC team thus far this season. The Terriers own the top three-point field goal percentage defense (.298) on the circuit.
WAGNER ranks second amongst NEC team leaders in field goal percentage defense (.401) and third in three-point field goal percentage defense (.315).
QUOTABLE
JOHN THURSTON (ST. FRANCIS BKLYN), Head Coach
“I don’t think that we played as focused. When you have as many fumbles and dropped passes that we had in the first half, to me that’s a focus issue and I thought we were kind of beyond that. The shooter (Alexis Lewis) had seven uncontested threes. So much of it is just ‘how you get out of the gate’ and we missed lay-ups, open shots and we didn’t have the same focus on the defensive end.”
- after the Terriers failed to secure their second win in a row, falling behind Iona early in an eventual 62-46 road loss on December 17.
CHARLIE BUSCAGLIA (ROBERT MORRIS), Head Coach
“Keeping the ball in front of us was a big focus. Contesting all shots, walling up in the post, and rebounding – those are all things that we believe in. This was a very similar team to Howard, who we saw earlier in the year, because of how well they crash the boards. We were able to shoot gaps and get steals, and digging on the ball when they were in front of us. You see how many shots from the outside they had to take that were contested – that kind of stuff makes me really happy. I love seeing our team forcing tough shots and getting stops that way.”
- after the Colonials defeated Morgan State, 58-44, on December 18 for their second straight win over a MEAC member.
PETE CINELLA (Fairleigh Dickinson), Head Coach
“I really liked our tempo in the first half. We shot 50-percent from the field and 40 from three [point range]. We have to learn how to attack and play for 40 minutes. In almost every game during this tough stretch we have had a good half where we outplayed the other team and if you can do that then you can out play them for 40 minutes.”
- after a two-point halftime lead turned into a 65-43 road loss to North Jersey rival Saint Peter’s on December 13
FINE LINES (WEEK 6)
The following players earned “NEC Prime Performer status” after accounting for some fine statistical lines...
ADAYSHA WILLIAMS (SACRED HEART)
The senior guard was SHU’s leading scorer (14.5 ppg) last week. She scored 22 points in Monday’s win over Siena while eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for her career in the process.
JESSICA KOVATCH (SAINT FRANCIS U)
The sophomore scorer sank a single-game program-record 9 triples and poured in 37 points in Monday’s win at Coastal Carolina. For the week, she averaged 24.3 points per outing.
ANNA NIKI STAMOLAMPROU (ROBERT MORRIS)
The senior combo guard put forth a complete effort (13p, 6r, 3a, 3s) to powered RMU past Morgan State in its lone game last week.
MILESTONES, FIRSTS, ETC.
ADYASHA WILLIAMS (SACRED HEART)
With her seventh field goal of the game at the 3:15 marker in the fourth quarter, the senior guard expanded SHU’s lead over Siena to seven points and became the 20th Pioneer in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone (Dec. 12).
OLIVIA LEVEY (ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN)
The senior center, who leads the Terriers in scoring with a 13.5 points per game average, recorded her first double-double of the season (12p, 12r) in a setback at Iona on December 17.
ACE HARRISON (SAINT FRANCIS U)
The graduate transfer secured a career-high 17 rebounds in a 70-59 triumph over Coastal Carolina on December 12. Harrison, who averages a league-high 10.4 caroms per contest, ripped down the most rebounds in a game since Brielle Ward grabbed 15 against Fairleigh Dickinson on February 1, 2016.
ROOKIE WATCH
LIU YOUTH MOVEMENT
LIU Brooklyn started four freshmen in the team’s lone game last week - a 66-57 setback at Ivy League member Columbia.
Earlier in December, second-year head coach Stephanie Oliver began grouping four first-year players along with senior Shanovia Dove for the Blackbirds’ starting five.
All four freshmen -- Aja Boyd, Seneca Richards, Gabrielle Caponegro, Victoria Powell -- played at least 21 minutes apiece in the loss to the Lions.
Boyd and Richards shot the ball exceptionally well from the field en-route to posting season-high scoring totals.
The 6-foot-2 Boyd made 7 of 9 field goal attempts while tallying 18 points in 27 minutes. Richards, a 5-foot-11 guard, netted 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
For the season, Boyd is the Blackbirds' second-leading scorer. She has started nine of 10 games while averaging 9.1 points per contest and shooting 51.5 percent from the field.
PUP CRACKS BULLDOGS’ STARTING FIVE
A bench player for the first nine contests on Bryant’s schedule, Stephanie Lesko (Rumson, NJ) had not seen more than 21 minutes in a game.
That changed last Saturday.
The freshman small forward made her first career start and played a season-high 32 minutes in a setback to Maine on December 17. The Garden State product scored six points.
Lesko is one of two freshmen playing significant minutes for Mary Burke’s Bulldogs.
Although she has yet to make a start, freshman Sydney Holloway has appeared in all 10 contests. The West Virginia product is averaging 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing. She ranks second amongst NEC leaders in free throw percentage (.872) after making a season-high eight freebies (8-for-8) against Maine.
ROOKIE PRODUCTION IN THE POST
They’re both freshmen forwards and they are both making noticeable contributions for Robert Morris.
Enjoying her second NEC rookie honor in three weeks, Nneka Ezeigbo shooting 61.3 percent from the floor over RMU’s past five games. The 6-foot-2 freshman has made at least five field goals and scored 11 points in three of her past four appearances.
Although not in the starting role that Ezeigbo has enjoyed, rookie Nadege Pluviose is coming on strong as the non-conference schedule winds down. The 6-footer from Montreal has scored in double figures in each of her past two appearances. She has tallied 22 points in her last 25 minutes of action and owns an .818 field goal percentage over that span.
Last Week’s Top Rookie Single-Game Scorers
Aja Boyd (LIU): 18 at Columbia
Sydney Holloway (BRY): 16 vs. Maine
Cebria Outlow (CCSU): 15 at Boston College
Seneca Richards (LIU): 14 at Columbia
Nneka Ezeigbo (RMU): 11 at Morgan State
Nadege Pluviose (RMU): 10 at Morgan State
BLOCK PARTY IN BOCA
If Jackson State had never before experienced rejection, then the Tigers certainly know the feeling now.
Going up against the JSU Tigers at the Florida Atlantic Holiday Tournament in Boca Raton, Saint Francis set a single-game program record for blocked shots.
The Flash swatted 13 shots in the game with 12 of them coming courtesy of sophomore center Courtney Zezza (7) and junior post player Cydney Smith (5).
The two women – Zezza (2.7 bpg) and Smith (2.0 bpg) -- rank first and second amongst NEC blocks leaders this season. As a team, Saint Francis has logged a league-leading 66 blocks in 10 games.
Any joy derived from Saturday’s defensive achievement in Boca Raton, however, was dampened during the Red Flash’s final quarter of play at the FAU Tournament. With the Flash in line for a wire-to-wire victory, Jackson State went on an 18-3 fourth-quarter run to steal an 88-84 win.
RAINING 3’S IN SUN DOME
Ultimately, it was South Florida’s shooting that was too hot to handle, but Saint Francis made its share of shots against the nationally-ranked Bulls at the Sun Dome.
The Red Flash accounted for two single-game three-point records in the defeat.
SFU made 19 three-pointers for the first time in its history, surpassing the previous program record of 17 that was attained on three occasions.
Nine of the 19 triples came courtesy of sophomore sharpshooter Jessica Kovatch. The Garden State product matched the Flash’s single-game record when she drained eight 3’s as a freshman against Canisius. Now, she owns sole possession of the mark thanks to her 9-of-21 clip from downtown against USF.
As a team, Saint Francis ranks second overall on the NCAA Division I team leader board for three-point field goals. The Flash have made 11.7 triples per contest, behind only Sacramento State’s 12.0 3FGM per game average.