By Edward Joiner
ST.BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (Nov. 15) — Hannah Little and Nyla Rueter look to expand their roles in their second year with the program.
With two games of the season already behind them, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team sits at 1-1 and looks towards sophomores Little and Rueter to have breakout seasons. Little, a six-foot sophomore forward from Rochester Hills, Mich., is looked at as a very positive impact for the team this year. Last year Little played in 24 games — with her best game coming on the road against Toledo.
“Hannah’s athletic ability is really, really good,” said head coach Jim Crowley. “Her approach so far has been better than her athletic ability, and that is a compliment.”
Little looks to step up to expectations that she knows her team and coach have set upon her for this year. She plans to bring lots of energy on both offense and defense to make sure her team is in the best position to win.
Rueter, the 5-foot-9 guard from Hagerstown, Ind., shot 5-12 from the field en route to 12 points in Sunday’s win against Colgate. She also hauled in six rebounds to go along with an assist, two blocks and two steals. Rueter understands that being a sophomore on this young team means that she will see an increase role on both sides of the ball. She said she needs to step up to meet those goals — which means her consistency needs to be on point for the team to be successful.
“There’s plays almost every game that Nyla makes you go, ‘Wow’,” said Crowley. “And then there’s plays every game that Nyla makes you go, ‘No.’ And she has to get rid of those.”
Crowley also spoke highly of Rueter’s improvements in her decision-making and her defensive play. Rueter she said she (wants to) stay humble and remind herself that the team’s success is bigger than personal goals. Both Rueter and Little understand the value of leadership and both gave credit to the seniors as the main leaders, but they also understand that with five sophomore players they too have to be leaders and help carry the load for this team.
The team looks to carry over the chemistry from the win on Sunday when they host Wisconsin-Green Bay today at 7 p.m.
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