Dec. 30, 2008

Final Stats

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Behind a strong second half offensive performance, the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team coasted to a 71-47 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University on Tuesday afternoon at the Reilly Center.

Dana Mitchell led the Brown and White in scoring, pouring in 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Katelyn Murray broke out of her recent scoring funk, tallying 11 points on 2-of-4 shooting from the three-point line and 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe.

Erica Schiefen had 12 points for the Bonnies as she continued her consistent shooting from the three-point line, hitting 3-of-6 from downtown. Schiefen has now made at least three trifectas in four of her last five games.

The Bonnies defense was a big reason for today's victory, as they held its fourth opponent in the last five games to under 50 points. St. Bonaventure's defense forced Fairleigh Dickinson into 15 turnovers on the day, and converted them into 17 points. Another key to the Brown and White's victory was their ability to dominate down low on both sides of the ball. The Bonnies out-rebounded FDU 41-33 and more than doubled their points in the paint total, winning that battle 32-14.

St. Bonaventure moves to 9-4 with the victory, improving its home record to 6-1. Fairleigh Dickinson, who hadn't played a game in over two weeks, drops to 2-7 on the season after the loss.

FDU came out aggressive to start the game taking an 8-5 lead over the Bonnies after a pair of free throws by Jordan Sykes.

The Brown and White would respond after a sluggish start, going on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes of the game. A Schiefen three-pointer would put the Bonnies up 14-8 with 10:42 left in the first half.

FDU would not go away, however, as Mariyah Laury hit an off-balance jumper to tie the game up at 17-17. A jumper by Erica McKeithan would put the Knights back in front, at 21-19, with 4:06 to go in the first.

St. Bonaventure would regroup after a timeout, going on another four minute scoring run. The Bonnies out-scored the Knights 9-1 over the final four minutes of the first half. A lay-in by Mitchell with 22 seconds left would send the Brown and White into halftime with a 28-22 lead.

St. Bonaventure would ride the momentum they created at the end of the first half into the start of the second half. The Brown and White went on an 11-5 run over the first five minutes of the second stanza. An Andrea Doneth jumper would cap the run off and put the Bonnies up 39-27.

A Priscilla Edwards old-fashion three-point play would put St. Bonaventure ahead 42-29 with 13:51 to go in the game. FDU would try to make a run as Christy Altamirano hit a tightly contested three-pointer to pull the Knights within 10.

The Bonnies, however, would not let up and began to pull away from the pesky Knights. A Doneth lay-in would push the Bona lead up to 53-37. A three-pointer by Murray would further extend the St. Bonaventure lead up to 21, at 58-37, with 5:12 remaining.

That is where the Brown and White's lead would stay for the remainder of the game, as FDU never got within 20 points of the Bonnies the rest of the way.

The Knights were led by Christy Altamirano, who poured in a game-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. The only other player in double figures for Fairleigh Dickinson was Mariyah Laury, who had 13 points and three assists in the loss.

The Brown and White will not have much of a break as they celebrate the New Year. St. Bonaventure returns to the court on January 2, when it travels to Smithfield, R.I. to take on Bryant University in the Chace Athletic Center for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.