Feb. 13, 2008
Final Stats
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -
Not only did the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team snap a three-game losing streak with a 69-66 victory at Duquesne, the club also matched the program's all-time mark at the Division I level for the second straight season with 16 wins. Only two other Bona clubs have reached the 16-win mark at the top level.
With the win, the Bonnies improve to 16-9 (4-6) on the season with just the school's second ever win at the Palumbo Center and first since an 85-66 triumph on February 26, 1991. Following their second loss to the Brown and White this season, Duquesne falls to 11-13 (2-7) with losses in seven of its last nine contests.
The Bonnies connected on a season-best 50 percent (24-for-48) from the field en route to the club's highest offensive output since a 71-65 win at Binghamton (Dec. 29) to earn their 10th true road triumph of the season. The win in Pittsburgh also equaled a program record for most wins away from the Reilly Center with 11 overall in 2007-08.
Junior Katelyn Murray led three Bonnies in double figures with a game-high 17 points thanks to a 7-for-13 performance from the floor as well as three triples to raise her career total to 128. In her home state of Pennsylvania, Murray also added three rebounds, three assists and a personal-best three blocks on the evening.
Sophomore classmates Dana Mitchell and Andrea Doneth also reached the double digit plateau with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Mitchell extended her double figure scoring streak to 26 games dating back to last season, while elevating her to 862 points in just 55 games. Junior Tiara Johnson filled the books with sixes across the board in points, rebounds and assists.
The Bonnies received great production throughout the roster as all eight players who entered the contest put their name in the scoring column.
Led by junior Ashley Edwards' nine rebounds, the Brown and White owned an advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Dukes 38-31. Freshman Cara Gustafson equaled a career-high with seven caroms.
After finishing the first frame on an 8-4 run, the Dukes continued their momentum into the final 20 minutes of action with the first five points of the second session. Freshman Samantha Pollino accounted for all five of the Dukes' points to claim her team's first lead since early in the first half at 36-35.
The Bonnies responded with eight points in a row to regain the lead at 43-36 as Mitchell sparked the spurt with a conventional three-point play followed by a pair of jumpers from Johnson and Murray. Senior Megan Ellis (seven points) capped the run with a single freebie at the charity stripe.
Duquesne again retaliated by slicing the Bona lead to 47-45 over the next six-plus minute span thanks to the scoring from junior Kristi Little and freshman Lauren Reinshuttle, who accounted for all 10 points during a 10-4 Dukes' spurt.
Thanks to five straight Duquesne points midway through the second stanza, the Dukes knotted the game at 50-50 off a floater from sophomore Sam Thompson. However, the Bonnies stormed out on a 9-1 run minutes later to claim their largest lead of the night at 62-53 with 4:20 showing on the clock. Doneth recorded five tallies during the run and capped the stretch with her first three-pointer of the night.
Hoping to emulate the Bona 62-61 come-from-behind win on January 30, Duquesne put together a 13-5 rally down the stretch to cut the Bonnies lead to one at 67-66 with 12 seconds remaining. Little tallied half of her 12 points in the final three minutes of the game, but the Bonnies were able to connect on 5-of-8 free throws to stay on top.
Thanks to 13 first half points from Murray, the Brown and White entered the locker room with a 35-31 advantage at intermission. The third-year guard paced all scorers in the opening 20 minutes of play and drained a trio of three-pointers. St. Bonaventure led for all but 27 seconds to begin the game and owned their first lead at the break since its win at La Salle.
After falling behind by a single-point following a triple from sophomore Keri Pryor, the Bonnies used a 14-6 stretch to gain a 21-14 advantage less than 12 minutes into the contest. The Brown and White gained a seven point edge on three different occasions during the five-plus minute span.
Junior Erica Schiefen started the scoring with the club's second three-pointer of the evening at the 14:55 mark prior to five straight Bona points from Ellis. The fourth-year guard continued her production off the bench with consecutive transition lay ups and a 1-for-2 performance at the stripe.
Mitchell followed Ellis' connection at the line with a runner that kissed off the glass before falling through the net to push the Bona edge to 17-10 with 11:26 left in the half.
Duquesne quickly responded with five straight points to trim the deficit to two at 21-19 with 6:23 remaining in the first half.
However, the Bonnies registered 10 of the next 14 points with a three from Murray to start and finish the span to gain their largest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 31-23. The Harrisburg, Pa. product tallied eight of her club's points during the span, including her third triple of the night.
The Dukes concluded the first frame on an 8-4 run thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Thompson and Britcher to cut the lead to just two points at 33-31. Doneth added a slashing lay in with 25 seconds remaining to make the count 35-31 at the break.
The Brown and White return to Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center on Saturday, Feb. 16 to take on nationally ranked George Washington at 4:30 p.m. The Bonnies will host the nationwide "Think Pink" initiative when the Colonials visit St. Bonaventure.
