Women’s basketball: Drummond, Bonnies defeat Dukes

(Miranda Drummond photo credit: GoBonnies.com)

By Katie Faulkner @kfaulkner20

The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team continued its winning streak with a 56-45 win over James Madison on Monday night at the Reilly Center. The Bonnies improved to 6-2 overall on the season.

Sophomore Miranda Drummond earned her first career double-double, with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Mariah Ruff went 7-of-8 from the free throw line, delivering 11 points and four assists in 32 minutes of action.

“You haven’t seen how good (Drummond) is yet,” said coach Jim Crowley. “She’s just getting started.”

Katie Healy, Bona’s leading scorer, did not suit up for the second straight game and remains in a walking boot. Gabby Richmond earned the start and delivered eight points and five rebounds.

Graduate student Emily Michael netted a rare seven points and grabbed 10 of the Bonnies’ 40 total rebounds.

“People can see what they want to see. I see (Michael) in control of the game playing it our way,” said Crowley.

The Bonnies held JMU to 23.6 percent shooting (17-72) from the field. The team’s leading scorer, 6-foot-2 guard Jazmon Gwathmey, scored 22 points (9-for-29) and eight rebounds. The Dukes entered the game averaging over 75 points per game, including nearly eight three-pointers.

The Dukes would go on a 12-0 run to end the first quarter, taking a 12-7 lead. Gwathmey would deliver nine straight points to extend the lead to 17-9, but a pair of shots from beyond the arc from Drummond and Michael gave the Bonnies a 19-17 lead. A three-point play from Angela Mickens brought the Dukes within three heading into the fourth quarter. Ruff sank four consecutive points to begin the final period and Nyla Rueter went 2-for-2 at the line to give the Bonnies some breathing room.

The Bonnies turned the ball over 23 times and dished out nine assists, including four from Ruff.

“While we didn’t do a great job taking care of the ball, while we gave them a lot of offensive rebounds, we still found a way to do some things to get the victory,” said Crowley.