Nov. 18, 2006

Final Stats

ELMIRA, N.Y. - Audrey Latendresse and Ashley Edwards both had double-doubles to lead St. Bonaventure to a 69-57 win over Columbia on Saturday in the St. Bonaventure Shootout at First Arena.

The Bonnies (2-1) will now play the University at Buffalo for the Shootout title on Sunday at 2:00. Buffalo defeated Manhattan in Saturday's other semifinal.

Latendresse had a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Edwards totaled 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Columbia (1-3) trailed 30-24 at halftime, but cut its deficit to one early in the second half. St. Bonaventure, though, responded behind Latendresse. The senior scored five points and blocked a shot during a 13-3 run which put the Bonnies ahead 45-34 with 13:29 remaining.

It remained a double-digit lead until Columbia went on a 9-0 run to trim the Bonnies' lead to 56-55 with 4:15 left.

Once again, Latendresse ended the Columbia surge. First, she made a layin, then followed that a three-pointer that made it 61-55 with 2:41 to play.

The Bonnies secured the win with their defense, holding the Lions to one field goal over the final four minutes of the game.

"Defense was the key - we have to lean on our defense because our offense is not where it needs to be," said St. Bonaventure coach Jim Crowley. "We told our kids, 'just don't give up easy baskets.' We executed well in the last minutes of the game. I'm disappointed with our turnovers over the course of the whole game, but I was pleased with our ability to hold off a rally from a dangerous Columbia team."

Junior point guard Priscilla Edwards scored 12 points for the Bonnies. St. Bonaventure also got eight points from freshman forward Dana Mitchell and eight from sophomore forward Erica Schiefen, who is an Elmira native.

The Bonnies out-rebounded Columbia 44-18 and limited the Lions to 40 percent shooting from the field (24-59). St. Bonaventure shot 57 percent from the field, but off-set that with 23 turnovers.

In Saturday's first game, Buffalo (1-2) handled Manhattan, 61-43. The Bulls led 29-28 at halftime but gradually pulled away in the second half. Belinda Gibb led Buffalo with 17 points and Stephanie Barnett added 16 points. Gabrielle Cotrelle and Jenna Franciosa led Manhattan (1-2) with 10 points apiece.