From Mirror reports

LORETTO — The Saint Francis women’s basketball team lost its second in a row Tuesday night, falling 76-70, at home to Sacred Heart in a Northeast Conference matchup inside the DeGol Arena.

The Red Flash fell to 11-6 overall and 9-2 in the NEC while the Pioneers improved to 8-5 overall and 8-3 in the league.

SFU (11-6, 9-2 NEC) fell to Sacred Heart (8-5, 8-3 NEC) by a six-point margin in overtime on Tuesday in the teams’ first meeting of the season.

Saint Francis used a 19-0 run in the second quarter after being down nine points to take a 10-point lead. The Red Flash held the lead for the next two quarters, but the Pioneers tied it midway through the fourth, eventually sending it to overtime en route to the win.

The two teams will face off again this afternoon at 4 p.m. in the series finale.

In the fourth quarter, back-to-back 3-pointers from Lili Benzel gave the Red Flash a seven-point lead after Sacred Heart cut it to one. Sacred Heart battled back to tie, and the teams sat deadlocked at 65 with 1:30 to play. Still tied with under 30 seconds to go and Sacred Heart possession, Jenna Mastellone took a charge with 1.6 on the clock to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the Red Flash found itself down four with 45 seconds to go, but could not capitalize late, falling to Sacred Heart, 76-70.

Benzel finished with 19 points while teammate Karson Swogger finished the game with 22. Swogger, Mastellone and Haley Thomas were all honored on senior night before the game. Swogger hit a 3-pointer late in the overtime to cut the lead two two points, but the Red Flash could get no closer.

Game notes: Thomas registered double-digit rebounds for the first time this season, totaling 13 rebounds, just one shy of her career-high. … Benzel extended her 3-pointer streak to 24 games with a career-high six 3-pointers, scoring a career-high 19 points in conference play. … Swogger reached the 20-point plateau for the third time this season, scoring in double figures for the 12th-straight game. … The Red Flash totaled a season-high 50 rebounds and 10 3-pointers.

SACRED HEART (76): Johnson 12-20 4-4 31, Hagood 4-13 4-6 14, Wood 5-11 1-2 11, Dabney 3-8 0-0 7, Davis 2-9 1-2 5, Hammond 2-7 0-0 5, Ziba 1-3 0-0 3, Klein 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 29-71 10-14 76.

SAINT FRANCIS (70): Swogger 9-24 1-1 22, Mastellone 2-3 0-0 5, Thomas 1-7 2-4 4, Maxwell 2-4 0-0 4, Miller 0-5 0-0 0, Benzel 6-14 1-2 19, Dettwiler 4-6 0-0 8, Dapaa 3-7 0-0 6, Nichols 0-1 2-2 2. Totals — 27-71 6-9 70.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Sacred Heart 18 16 15 16 11 — 76

Saint Francis 12 25 16 12 5 — 70

3-point goals: Sacred Heart 8-25 (Johnson 3-6, Hagood 2-8, Dabney 1-3, Ziba 1-3, Hammond 1-4); Saint Francis 10-20 (Benzel 6-11, Swogger 3-8, Mastellone 1-1). Assists: Sacred Heart 10 (Johnson 4); Saint Francis 14 (Swogger 5). Rebounds: Sacred Heart 40 (Wood 10, Dabney 10); Saint Francis 50 (Thomas 13).

Records: Sacred Heart (8-5, 8-3 NEC); Saint Francis (11-6, 9-2 NEC).