WBB: Bonnies fall to Davidson in first round of A-10 tournament

photo courtesy of gobonnies.sbu.edu

RICHMOND, VA — One month ago, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball game beat Davidson on back-to-back nights.

The Wildcats came ready to get revenge on Wednesday, however, winning by a score of 69-61 in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Davidson was led by Cassidy Gould’s 25 points, 19 of which came in the first half.

“Gould is a really good player,” Bona head coach Jesse Fleming said. “Her teammates did a really good job of finding her today, especially in the first half.”

Davidson head coach Gayle Folks also had strong things to say about Gould’s performance.

“She does not care about a single statistic, just the win or loss,” Folks said. “She is probably the most selfless player I have ever been around.”

Gould’s teammate, sophomore Adelaide Fuller, followed up her effort with 17 points. Davidson senior guard Katie Turner, who scored 11 points, said that intensity was a key difference between this matchup and the teams’ first two contests.

“We went in with even additional intensity, and wanted revenge,” Turner said. “I hate losing, and I know the rest of these girls do too.”

St. Bonaventure was led by 18 points from Asianae Johnson and 17 points by Tori Harris. Johnson went to work late in the first half after a slow start.

“I was trying to give our team a kick start, since we were not ready,” she said.

Fleming took much of the blame for the loss during his postgame press conference.

“I need to do a better job preparing us for the zone,” Fleming said. “(Davidson) saw we did not hand the zone well. (They) changed a lot of things; maybe we should have rotated help on Gould.”

SBU was out-rebounded 45-35 in the game. SBU ends its season with a 6-14 record in a season shortened by COVID-19.

“Practices were fun because of the competitive nature of the team,” Fleming said. “I am really excited, and I really like our core.”

Fleming said that he’s not yet prepared to look forward to next season.

“I just want to sit back and appreciate these kids,” he said. “They are really hard workers, and they are really hurting today.”

Bona women beat Davidson on back-to-back nights

photo: Connor Raine/The Intrepid

By Connor Raine

ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team put up over 70 points on back-to-back nights against Davidson.

After defeating the Wildcats at home on Sunday, 71-58, the Bonnies once again hosted Davidson on Monday night in the second half of a back-to-back at the Reilly Center.

This season has been a tough one for the Bonnies, who currently sit at 11^th in the Atlantic 10 conference with a 4-10 record. However, the team’s record doesn’t show for the chemistry displayed this weekend to sweep the doubleheader.

After winning big on Sunday, the Bonnies returned to the court with slow start on Monday, as they trailed 15-7 after the first quarter. The Bonnies shot only 27% from the field in the first quarter. This was their lowest shooting percentage (by quarter) from the field in the contest.

The Bonnies were able to make up some ground in the second quarter, converting on 46% of their shot attempts from the field. The Bonnies trailed only by four points going into halftime.

“Today we came out a little flat,” said St. Bonaventure head coach Jesse Fleming. “I was proud to see us battle back.”

Led by Asianae Johnson, who scored points 20 points and collected and two assists, the Bonnies were able to bounce back and secure the victory late in the third quarter where they were leading by as many as 12 points.

“It is amazing to win back-to-back, our team had to play 80 minutes in two days,” said Johnson, a junior guard.

Also contributing to the scoring was I’yanna Lops with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Tori Harris contributed with critical 3-pointers in the game, totaling 12 points and seven rebounds. Jurnee President and Deja Francis each had 11 points.

Johnson was named A-10 player of the week this past week for her double-digit scoring performances against Saint Louis and Dayton.

“At the end of the day I am proud of my accomplishments, I have been putting in so much work and everyone can see it,” said Johnson.

This accomplishment was well deserved, as Johnson also had a career night Sunday in the first game of the double header, shooting 8-for-11 from the field totaling 18 points. Johnson is now averaging 14 points per game on the season and shooting 47% from the field.

“Well deserving (of her accomplishment),” Fleming said. “I don’t think she has missed a day since the end of July when we returned to campus. She couldn’t shoot outside of three feet a year ago, now she has a very strong pull up jumper.”

The Bonnies look to continue their two-game winning streak as they travel to Fairfax, Virginia on Friday evening to take on the 3-14 the Gorge Mason Patriots. The Patriots are currently 0-10 in league play and are sitting in last place in the A-10 conference.

On Sunday, the lady Bonnies will take on George Washington in Washington D.C, which will conclude a two-game road trip. Gorge Washington is currently 1-9 in conference play and 4-12 overall sitting at 13^th in the A-10.

“We have to find a way to win on the road,” Fleming said.

Three out of the four Bonnies wins this season have come at home. The Bonnies are looking to flip the switch and gain two wins on the road and are coming into the weekend road trip with momentum after winning two straight against Davidson.

Women’s basketball: Britvar and Maycock lead charge, Bonnies win third straight

(Imani Outlaw and Mckenna Maycock Photo: Cameron Hurst)

By Cameron Hurst @CameronNHurst

In Matea Britvar’s eyes, the extensive preparation by the St. Bonaventure coaching staff for Wednesday’s face-off with Davidson contributed greatly to a quick start for the Bonnies in their 70-51 route of the Wildcats at the Reilly Center.

“With the preparation that we’ve had the last couple days, it just felt right,” said the Orlando, Fl. native, who started the game 3-of-3 from the field after knocking in the Bonnies’ first score of the game. “Just coming out and seeing my first shot go in just kind of led the momentum for everyone I think.”

Leading the momentum is an understatement, as the Bonnies scored 18 of their season-high 29 points off the turnover in the first half, helping forge a 20-2 run starting at the 8:19 mark to close out the half with a 39-18 lead.

“[Britvar] got us going making jumper after jumper right away, even if we didn’t have a good offensive position,” said Bonaventure head coach Jesse Fleming, who was fortunate not only for the junior’s performance, but for a strong overall performance by his team.

“I was proud of the maturity tonight,” added the first year head coach. “I’m really proud of the way we’re playing. We’re getting a lot of deflections. We’re covering up for each other defensively. Even the stuff that [Davidson] scored on, a lot of it was us covering up for other people.”

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