Tag: women’s basketball

Atlantic 10 tournament canceled over Coronavirus fears

By Jeff Uveino

BROOKLYN, NY — The remainder of the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament was canceled on Thursday minutes before the tournament’s first game of the day was scheduled to start at Barclays Center.

No. 8 Massachusetts and No. 9 VCU were set for a noon tip-off to start the day’s action, until it was announced at 11:59 a.m. that the tournament would not be played due to fears over the Coronavirus.

“It was a very difficult decision, and you can probably hear that in my voice,” A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade said while calling in to the league press conference on Thursday. “The precautionary decision making done to protect our student athletes, family members and the public is something that I think everyone in the country is doing right now.”

The conference had announced on Wednesday night that the tournament would be played without fans in attendance. McGlade said that at that point, she knew that canceling the tournament was a possibility, but hoped that it would not be necessary.

“You always hate to pull people off the court, but the right decision was made, even in the last hour,” said Thorr Bjorn, athletic director at Rhode Island and the chair of the A-10 athletic directors. “This was a preventative decision, not a reactionary one.”

The news came as NCAA conferences around the nation announced that they would not hold their respective tournaments.

“Two minutes left in the warmup, you’re on the court and locked in, and then no game,” VCU coach Mike Rhodes said. “It’s surreal. The reality of it is, you can’t win every game, but your responsibility as a coach is to keep your players healthy and safe.”

Rhodes said that the decision was especially tough to swallow for his senior players.

“There weren’t any dry eyes in our locker room,” Rhodes said. “When our seniors sat down and realized they wouldn’t be putting on a uniform again, that was tough.”

McGlade, who had called in to from an NCAA Selection Committee meeting, said that she is uncertain whether the NCAA tournament will be the next event to be impacted.

“All of the leadership executives within the NCAA and our committee are very attentive and attuned to everything that’s going on, and looking at all of the impactful information that’s coming on as we are charged with taking care of our responsibilities.”

Calabrese’s Career Day Guides Bonnies Past Rams 81-70

By: Isaiah Blakely

Freshman Emily Calabrese’s 19 points and six rebounds led the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (7-12, 2-4 A-10) to victory over the Rhode Island Rams (2-17, 0-6 A-10) 81-70.

Calabrese got it going early with a layup and the foul in the first quarter. That was three of her seven points in that quarter. The highlight of the first quarter was after a Rams three the Bonnies quickly inbounded the ball to senior Mariah Ruff and she shoots from beyond half court and sinks it giving the Bonnies a 21-17 advantage going into the second quarter. That was three of Ruff’s 19 points. Ruff also had 11 rebounds and six assists.

“I thought Mar’s half-court heave got us really juiced up,” said coach Jesse Fleming.

The Bonnies certainly were ready to go in the second quarter. The Bonnies started the quarter on a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 14. The scoring was balanced in the second with sophomore Rhianna Council scoring five points early in that quarter and ending with nine points. Junior Arielle Harvey also added five of her 12 points in the second quarter. The Bonnies outscored the Rams 20-8 in the quarter.

The third quarter was more of the same for the Bonnies. Sophomore Danielle Migliore came alive in the third quarter scoring eight of her 13 points in the quarter. After a Migliore layup, Harvey gave the Bonnies a 28-point lead which was their biggest lead of the game after another three-pointer.

“I was really pleased with the way we played to get it to a 28-point lead,” said Fleming.

The Rams found a way to claw back in the game in the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run to bring the lead down to 11 with 2:36 to go. The run was led by sophomore Nicole Jorgensen who had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Redshirt-sophomore Elemy Colome lead all Rams scorers with 18 points and seven assists.

The Bonnies leading scorers on the night responded with a layup by Ruff and a couple free throws by Calabrese to secure the victory.

“I thought Emily Calabrese had her best game as a Bonnie with 19 points and six boards against a bigger kid,” said Fleming.

“It’s amazing. I just went into the game wanting to play really hard and obviously, it’s all about the W and we won so that’s all that matters” said Calabrese.

Bonnies look to add another A-10 win on Saturday at home against Davidson at 2 p.m.

Maycock ready to embrace leadership role on young team

 

By Sean Mickey

Junior guard Mckenna Maycock is striving to lead the St. Bonaventure Women’s Basketball team to new heights.

Maycock, a lifelong southern tier resident attending Randolph high school in Randolph, New York, had always been familiar with St. Bonaventure and their athletics.

“I had gone to the Bonaventure camps for 5 years in a row, so I knew it by then,” Maycock said.

After her experiences as an athlete nearby, and attending Bonaventure basketball camps, becoming a Bonnie was an easy choice.

“I accepted it right away,” Maycock said. “I love the school and it’s really close to my family. It was really the perfect fit.”

The 2016-17 season was anything but extraordinary for the Brown and White, winning only nine games.

Coming off a disappointing season, Maycock knew that to help improve the team she needed to put in extra work in the off season.

“I tried to expand my game and get better at shooting from the outside,” Maycock said. “I think the biggest thing I have to do is bring my leadership every day because if I work hard every day then everyone else will follow.”

Those sentiments have rang true thus far this season.

Maycock leads all Bonnies in scoring and rebounding with 14.6 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game, which almost doubles her totals from last year. She’s also shooting a team lead 58% from three, going 14-24 from behind the arc, compared to her 9-34 three point total last year.

Maycock’s coach, Jesse Fleming shared his sentiments.

“She’s one of two true upperclassmen on the roster, so I expect leadership out of her,” Fleming said. “I think she’s one of the best athletes in the conference and she has to show that. She has really put in the work and we expect a lot out of her on both sides of the floor.”

Coach Fleming, who enters his second year as coach of the Bonnies, has relied heavily on Maycock so far, logging 40 minutes in a win over Bucknell, where she went 8-11 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from three.

She followed up that performance Saturday with a double-double off 23 points and 12 boards against UMBC.

While she’s put together some solid performances, helping the Bonnies to a 4-3 record in non-conference games, Maycock has her eye set on conference play.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” Maycock said. “I’m really excited to get revenge for some of the games I think we should have won last year. I’m just ready.”

Terry sets the example on and off the court

By Isaiah Blakely

Being better were words echoed many times by sophomore guard Jalisha Terry and her head coach Jesse Fleming.

“Jalisha had the hardest job out of anybody last year, she was the starting freshman point guard,” Fleming said. “I don’t know if there was anybody I yelled at more than Jalisha last year, and she took it.”

Despite having the “hardest job,” Terry was one of the best freshman in the A-10 last season averaging 7.3 points 2.8 rebounds and two assists per game.

Terry specifically wants to improve the offensive side of her game.

“To be better with my assists, my shooting percentages and just be more of a leader,” she said. “Since I’m the point guard, I need to be more of a leader and keep my team under control.”

Her game is not the only thing she wants to improve on.

“I don’t want to be the same person every year,” she said. “I want my stats to be better, be a better person and better teammate.”

Terry started 25 of 29 games last season and Fleming addressed that importance for her development as a player.

“It was valuable for her in the long run to get those experiences,” he said. “She should be ready to go, she’s got a better feel of the offense and she’s becoming a better defender.”

Terry has always homed in her skills against her younger brother Jalen Terry. Jalen is a sophomore at Beecher High School in Michigan, and he has already received offers from schools including Iowa.

“Every time I go back we still play, we talk stuff all the time,” she said. “He might win by two, I might win by a couple. He looks up to me, so I have to be the best I can be even though I am not at a big school. I still feel that I have to be an example.”

Sacramento Kings rookie point guard De’Aaron Fox made headlines when he credited the video game series NBA 2k for his ability to read the basketball court and improved court vision. Terry started playing the series recently, and was asked if she thinks she will see the same results.

“I think so,” she said. “Hopefully 2k can carry over to my game.”

Women’s basketball: Schedule release, and notes from the summer

By Joseph Phelan 

On July 23, St. Bonaventure released its non-conference schedule.

“The non-conference schedule that we set up, and I give (assistant coach) Andi (Andrea) Doneth all the credit–she did a great job, (the schedule) was set up to best prepare us for A-10 play,” said head coach Jim Crowley.

The schedule features seven road games, four home games and two games in the Brown University Classic.

St. Bonaventure will face two 2014 NCAA tournament teams in November when the Bonnies travel to James Madison on the 16, and to Penn State on the 25.

“Penn State is a great opportunity for us. They obviously are one of the top teams in the country,” said Crowley. “James Madison is another highlight. They are one of the nation’s best mid-majors, and one of the few we have yet to play.”

The rest of the opponents should provide good tests for the Bonnies before they embrace conference play beginning in 2015.

Continue reading “Women’s basketball: Schedule release, and notes from the summer” →

Women’s basketball: Defense, sophomore duo take down La Salle

By Joseph Phelan, @JPhelan13

So far the Bonnies have a .500 record in Atlantic 10 play. Home wins against La Salle and Richmond and away losses against Duquesne and Dayton.

In last night’s win against La Salle, the Bonnies completely shut down the Explorers offense.

The takeaway from a team aspect of the game could be found in one number: 20.4.

La Salle shot 20.4 percent from the field Wednesday night.

Although the Explorers missed open shots, the Bonnies did a great job at contesting La Salle’s shots.

Continue reading “Women’s basketball: Defense, sophomore duo take down La Salle” →

Women’s basketball roundup

By Joseph Phelan, @JPhelan13

St. Bonaventure women opened up 2014 with a loss to Duquesne. The Bonnies fell behind early, and despite a strong second half surge could not make the comeback. Tomorrow afternoon, the Bonnies take on the Richmond Spiders at 4:30. I’ve been away from this team for over a month now. The Duquesne game had been broadcasted on CBS Sports Network, and they had two home games streamed on GoBonnies.com, so I’ve had the chance to watch this team grow despite my absence from Bonaventure over break.

With 11 wins, the Bonnies have eclipsed their win total from last year. Five players average at least 9.5 points a game, led by Katie Healy who has risen her game this year. ESPNw recognized Healy’s game last month when it included her as a player who has stepped up from last season. Healy leads the team in points and blocks. As Healy continues to improve, Atlantic 10 coaches will be sure to tightly defend her. That’s where Healy’s teammates come into play.

Continue reading “Women’s basketball roundup” →