Jan. 18, 2007

Final Stats

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - On night where St. Bonaventure led for less than one minute, it was still the Bonnies suffering heartbreak as the final horn sounded.

La Salle's Crista Ricketts drained two free throws with three seconds remaining to help the Explorers (15-4, 3-1) escape with a 68-67 win over St. Bonaventure (10-8, 0-3) on Thursday night at the Reilly Center.

After holding the lead for a mere 20 seconds the entire game, junior Priscilla Edwards' layup with 27 seconds left gave the Brown and White its second lead of the game at 67-66.

After taking a timeout with 10 seconds left, La Salle inbounded the ball to the top of the key and found Ricketts underneath where she was fouled. Ricketts calmly sank the first free throw and didn't let a Bonaventure timeout rattle her on the second as she gave the lead back to the Explorers, 68-67.

With the game on the line, controversy struck as the Bonnies were able to complete the long out of bounds pass to Audrey Latendresse at the top of the three-point line. Latendresse appeared to be bumped as she caught the ball, but no foul was called as the senior was whistled for traveling before getting any shot off.

"I certainly would have liked the outcome to different, but I do realize that was a heck of game," said head coach Jim Crowley. "I'm extremely proud of the effort our kids put forth tonight."

Just four Explorers contributed to the scoring column as Rickets and junior Carlene Hightower went for 22 and 24 points, respectively. The duo sank all 14 of their shots from the charity stripe as La Salle made a perfect 16-of-16 at the line.

On a night full of stellar individual performances, it the gutsy play of Priscilla Edwards that kept the Bonnies within striking distance all night. Edwards accumulated 12 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes of play. Late in the second half, Edwards was forced to leave the game with a leg cramp, but returned after just three minutes on the bench.

Freshman Dana Mitchell continued her strong play with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, while Latendresse finished with 15 points and five boards. The Bona bench played a major factor as sophomore Erica Schiefen and freshman Andrea Doneth each drained a pair of trifectas to finish with 10 points.

"Both teams did a great job of getting the ball to the players who felt confident with the ball in their hands at different points of the game," Crowley said.

La Salle never trailed in the first half thanks to a dominating performance from its three starting the forwards. The frontcourt trio of Rickets, Hightower and Melanie Gibbons combined for 34 points, including the team's first 28 of the game, to help the Explorers take a 39-34 lead into the locker room.

For the game, the Bonnies shot 46 percent (26-57) from the floor, including 43 percent (6-14) from beyond the arc, and held a 31-27 edge on the glass.

St. Bonaventure will travel to Richmond, Va., on Sunday for an A-10 tilt against the Spiders. The game will be aired live on College Sports Television (CSTV) starting at noon.