Women’s basketball: Bonnies start challenging road trip at Dayton

The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team starts a challenging string of road games beginning Wednesday, when they take on Dayton at 7 p.m. at UD Arena. The Bonnies will look to stay on top of the Atlantic 10 standings, where they are currently tied for first place with George Washington at 5-0.

The Bonnies are coming off of a 70-55 victory over George Mason last Saturday at home. Four Bonnies scored in double figures, including sophomore Mariah Ruff, who had a game-high 16 points. Bona also shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the floor in that matchup.

While Dayton has posted eight straight 20-win seasons, the Flyers are just 8-8 overall on the season and 1-4 in A-10 play. However, the Flyers’ three-game losing streak included losses to George Washington (62-61) and VCU (74-72) by a mere three combined points.

Aside from the losses, Dayton has been without two of its leading scorers due to injuries. Senior Amber Deane (15.3 points per game) has been out since December after suffering a left quad contusion. Senior guard Kelley Austria (9.9 points per game in 2014-2015) tore her ACL seven games into the season.

The Bonnies’ strong start to their A-10 schedule has earned them national recognition, as they are currently ranked 39th in Relative Percentage Index (RPI) rankings. The brown and white continue their strong offensive production behind double-figure scoring from Ruff, Nyla Rueter, Miranda Drummond and Katie Healy. Rueter leads the way with 14 points per game, including 48 three-pointers on the season. Ruff is finding her offensive niche with 12.8 points per game. The sophomore is also shooting a league-best 56.1 percent in A-10 play.