Women’s basketball: Bonnies get back to winning ways, defeat St. Joe’s

(Nyla Rueter Photo Credit: GoBonnies.com)

By Katie Faulkner @kfaulkner20

The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team got back on track with a 65-51 victory over Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday night. The Bonnies remained perfect in the Reilly Center (12-0) and moved to 18-3 overall.

Senior Nyla Rueter led the way for the brown and white with 16 points and three assists. She sank two three-pointers and went 6-of-8 from the floor. Junior Imani Outlaw stuffed the stat sheet and registered seven points, three steals, three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes of action.

“We really attacked the rim; we got more layups than we’ve probably got in a while,” said Bona coach Jim Crowley.

St. Joe’s held a 10-9 lead with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter, but a pair of Miranda Drummond free throws would bring the Bonnies back in front. After that, they never trailed again.

The Bonnies held the Hawks to 35.8 percent shooting (19-of-53) from the floor. Senior guard Ciara Andrews led the Hawks with 11 points and five assists. Sophomore guard Chelsea Woods posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

SBU was outrebounded for the third game in a row, 34-27. However, the Bonnies’ defense forced 20 turnovers and notched a season-high 13 steals.  Rueter tallied three steals after not getting any in the loss at Duquesne.

“We were doing a really good job of sticking to our basics,” said Crowley. “We weren’t gambling or taking risks to get (steals).”

After a shaky start handling the ball, point guard Mariah Ruff settled down and dished out four assists to go along with her eight points.

St. Bonaventure remains at home as they host Richmond in a nationally televised game inside the Reilly Center. Tip off is at 12:30, with the men’s team following for a doubleheader.