Quick Hitters: Women defeat Edinboro in exhibition #Bonnies

Bona Win: St. Bonaventure beat  Edinboro 61-51 in the Bonnies lone exhibition game this year. It’s Bona’s fifth straight exhibition win against Edinboro.

Edinboro Stars Shine: Lauren Hippo had 25 points, while shooting nine for 11 from the field and four for five from 3. Laurel Lindsay struggled shooting the ball (3-12), but finished with 18 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

Bona’s Duo: Katie Healy and Hannah Little combined to score 27 points and grab 14 rebounds. Healy committed five turnovers, but also had six steals.

Defense, Defense, Defense: St. Bonaventure held Edinboro to 34.9 percent shooting. St. Bonaventure forced 14 turnovers, while Edinboro scored 14 points in the first half. “I hope our kids saw what we could be defensively in the first half, but it is really hard to be that good defensively the whole game. You have to work really hard every day and that is something we want to keep going at,” said head coach Jim Crowley.

Zahn and Richmond Return: Redshirt senior Ashley Zahn played her first game since the end of 2013. Gabby Richmond played her first game since knee surgery ended her season last winter. Zahn hit her only 3-point attempt, while Richmond had four points and nine rebounds. “I thought Gabby was moving pretty well. Zahn was shot ready, and really controlled,” said Crowley. “I thought they both gave us good minutes.”

Handling Adversity: St. Bonaventure had a 16-point lead cut to as little as four in the second half Saturday afternoon. Coach Crowley said post-game how pleased he was with his team in handling adversity. “You talk about stuff in practice, and handling adversity, and it’s one thing when it’s in practice when someone makes a 6-0 run on you, or erase a 14-point lead, but it’s another thing when it happens and you see the scoreboard, and the lights are on and other people are watching,” said Crowley. “From that aspect, I think it was really good.”

Next Up: The women open their regular season Friday at home against Canisius before playing four straight road games.

A story to soon follow.

 

 

Women’s basketball: Fordham Preview

By Joseph Phelan, @JPhelan13

The Bonnies meet the Rams in the semifinals this afternoon at 1:30.

The winner advances to the championship game Sunday morning.

Here are some quick thoughts and statistics:

Rematch: On Feb. 1 St. Bonaventure beat Fordham 74-67. Chelsea Bowker sunk three second-half threes, while Katie Healy had a career-high 27 points. St. Bonaventure forced the Rams to shoot under 40 percent from the field. Emily Michael’s defense on Fordham’s Erin Rooney had been fantastic. Rooney shot 3 for 16 on the afternoon.

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Women’s basketball: Strong defense leads to Bona win

By Joseph Phelan, @JPhelan13

La Salle scored 38 points against St. Bonaventure in the Explorers January loss. They shot 20 percent from the field that night.

In Friday’s quarterfinal matchup, the Bonnies allowed 42 points as La Salle shot 22.2 percent from the field.

“It is who we are,” said St. Bonaventure head coach Jim Crowley. “It ain’t pretty, but we play some defense. We play really hard.”

The Bonnies defeated La Salle by 12 to advance to semifinal Saturday in Richmond, Virginia.

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Quick Hitters: Bona erases 22-point deficit, beats Duquesne 63-62

By Joseph Phelan, @JPhelan13

Comeback for the Ages – St. Bonaventure erased a 22-point deficit to secure win No. 20.

Sensational Sophomore – Katie Healy finished with 26 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Little Delivers Big – Hannah Little missed one shot en route to a 15-point, five-rebound performance.

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Women’s basketball: Duquesne preview

By Joseph Phelan, @JPhelan13

Duquesne takes on St. Bonaventure with second place in the Atlantic 10 on the line Saturday afternoon.

Each team has an 8-3 conference record.

Bonaventure has five games remaining. A top-four seed means Bonaventure would begin tournament play on Friday March 7 in the quarterfinals in Virginia.

It’s a big game for Bonaventure for a number of reasons. Conference seeding implication is a major reason, but Saturday’s game will give Bona a chance to see where they stand among the conference’s elites. The Bonnies have two nice wins against Saint Joseph’s, Fordham and La Salle, but dropped their conference opener at Duquesne.

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Women’s basketball: Rueter gaining confidence after big performances

By Mike Bednarowicz, @MBed10

St. Bonaventure sophomore guard Nyla Rueter was named the College Sports Madness Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after two stellar games in a row against St. Joseph’s and UMass.

Rueter scored 15 points and had four rebounds against the Hawks in a 73-67 win. Rueter followed up that performance by scoring a career high 27 points on 11-17 shooting against UMass in an 88-66 win.

The honor has given Rueter added confidence for the rest of the season.

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Column: After down season, Bona has bounced back

By Joseph Phelan, @JPhelan13

Last night marked win No. 18 for St. Bonaventure.

With two more victories, the Bonnies will have doubled their win total from last season.

A tremendous feat considering how far this program sunk last season — nine games below .500, and failing to make the Atlantic 10 tournament.

“It’s an incredible compliment to these guys, and the leadership of Chelsea (Bowker), Emily (Michael) and everybody and their commitment to work that we have gotten back so quickly,” said head coach Jim Crowley.

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Quick Hitters: Bonnies take down Saint Joe’s 73-67

By Joseph Phelan, @JPhelan13

Stepping Up: With Gabrielle Richmond out (leg), Hannah Little scored 13 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. She made big buckets down the stretch after Katie Healy fouled out.

Dynamic Duo: Natasha Cloud and Sara Fairbanks combined for 38 points to pace Saint Joseph’s.

Raining Threes: The Bonnies hit a season high nine triples against Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday night. Chelsea Bowker tied a career high with six.

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