Dec. 29, 2007
Final Stats
VESTAL, N.Y. -
Sophomore Dana Mitchell tallied 21 of her season-high 28 points in the second stanza to lead the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team to a 71-65 win over Binghamton on Saturday afternoon at the Events Center.
Today's victory matched a pair of records established last season by the 16-15 edition of the Brown and White. With their second win over the Bearcats in 2007-08 following a 58-53 triumph on November 17, the Bonnies picked up their sixth road victory in a row and their seventh true road triumph to equal program records set last season. The Bonnies improved to 11-2, while Binghamton dropped their fifth contest in the last six games to fall to 2-10 on the season.
Following their win this afternoon, St. Bonaventure also now leads the nation with seven victories on opposing team's home courts.
Following her 27-point performance at IPFW, Mitchell tallied her second straight game above the 20-point plateau and hauled down 10 rebounds against the Bearcats for her third double-double of the season. The Fairless Hills, Pa. product has led the Brown and White in scoring in every contest this season but one and owns an Atlantic 10 best of seven games with at least 20 tallies.
Sophomore Andrea Doneth and junior Erica Schiefen joined Mitchell in double digits with 16 and 10 points, respectively. In her natural fashion, junior Tiara Johnson filled out the stat sheet with eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.
The Brown and White shot a season-high 62.5 percent from behind the arc on a 5-of-8 performance on the afternoon. Doneth and Schiefen combined for four triples.
"We knew Binghamton was playing very well heading into today's game," said head coach Jim Crowley. "We didn't have a great feeling coming into the game due to some injuries, but we were able to make enough plays down the stretch to pick up the win."
Binghamton opened the second session with a 10-3 run that turned its three-point halftime deficit into a 39-35 lead just under six minutes out of the break. The Bearcats hit two three-pointers during the stretch as the Bonnies managed just a Johnson pull-up jumper and a single free throw from senior Maripier Malo.
The Bonnies responded with the contest's next seven points to regain the advantage at 42-39 with 12:40 showing on the scoreboard. Mitchell tallied the first five points of the run on a short turnaround jumper and a cross over dribble drive that put her in place for an easy two. Doneth drained a wide open trifecta on the next possession to put the visiting Bonnies up three.
The second half spurts continued as Binghamton tallied 13 of the next 17 points thanks to six tallies from junior Laura Franceski to take a 52-46 lead with 8:23 remaining. However, the Bonnies made up four points the next time down the court as Doneth and Mitchell canned four free throws after Franceski was whistled for a technical for arguing the initial foul call.
Beginning with Mitchell's lay up at the 7:03 mark, St. Bonaventure outscored the Bearcats 22-11 down the stretch to seal the victory. The Bonnies gained the lead for good at 58-56 following a driving lay in from Johnson with 5:38 remaining.
However, Binghamton cut the lead to one on two occasions in the final five minutes, but the Bonnies were able to respond immediately in both instances on junior Katelyn Murray's three-pointer as well as a Mitchell slashing lay up.
An opening 20 minutes of action with a scoring spurt from each team saw Bona head into the locker room with a 26-23 edge at the break. Schiefen paced the Bonnies with 10 first half points, including a pair of three-pointers.
With the Bonnies leading by three points at 15-12 following a Mitchell fade-away jumper from the left baseline, Binghamton tallied the game's next nine points to gain the largest lead of the half for either team at 21-15.
Franceski sparked the stretch with a basket in the paint prior to a running jumper from freshman Jackie Ward to regain the advantage for the home team at 16-15. Binghamton connected on three freebies from the stripe before senior Laura Sario converted a fast break lay up off a steal in the Bonnies' backcourt to extend the lead to 21-15. The Bonnies failed to notch a single point during the five-plus minute span.
However, the Brown and White closed the first session with 11 of the final 13 points thanks to the hot shooting of Schiefen. The 6-0 junior drained a long jumper from the left baseline before connecting on her second triple of the half from the right wing to pull the Bonnies within a single point.
Following a deep two-pointer from senior Juta Jahilo, Johnson scored on a nifty up-and-under lay up in the paint before Malo dribbled the length of the court for a deuce with a defender at her side. Johnson concluded the scoring with another driving lay in to send her side to intermission up by three points at 26-23.
Senior Laine Kurpniece led three Bearcat players in double figures with 20 points, while Franceski and Sario added 19 and 12 tallies, respectively.
The Bonnies will remain on the road for their ninth consecutive contest away from Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center for a match-up with Syracuse on Monday, Dec. 31. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Carrier Dome between the two 11-win ball clubs.
