March 7, 2008

Final Stats

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Rhode Island survived a furious second half Brown and White rally en route to holding on for a 61-49 upset of the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team on Friday evening in the Opening Round of the Atlantic 10 Championship at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.

The Bonnies finished the 2007-08 campaign at 18-12 as the club established multiple school records, including the program's all-time win mark at the Division I level. With the victory, Rhode Island improved to 13-17 and will meet second seeded George Washington in the Quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon. St. Bonaventure hasn't fared well against the Rams of late as Rhode Island owns wins in 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Brown and White.

Junior Katelyn Murray led all scorers with a game-high 20 points thanks to a 7-for-12 effort from the field, while second team All-Conference selection Dana Mitchell was the only other Bonnie in double digits with 15 tallies for her 29th double figure scoring performance of the season. No one else in the Brown and White surpassed five points as junior Ashley Edwards was the next highest scorer with five.

St. Bonaventure connected on just 32.1 percent (17-for-53) of their shots, including a 4-for-16 effort from long range en route to their fourth lowest offensive output of the year. The Ram's full court pressure gave the Bonnies fits and forced the Brown and White into a season-high 22 turnovers that Rhode Island turned into 18 points.

Three Rams reached double figures led by 12 points from Amanda McGrew. Crystal Bellinger and Sierra Cooper each added 11 tallies apiece.

After falling behind by 12 points at the 14:35 mark, the Brown and White reeled off 10 straight points to slice the Ram's lead to just two at 40-38 with 8:20 remaining. The Bonnies also locked down on the defensive side of the ball, holding the Rams scoreless for over seven minutes of play.

Freshman Cara Gustafson sparked the spurt with a traditional three-point play after racing down the length of the court en route to converting a lay up in traffic. Murray capped the run with the next five points thanks to a baseline jumper and a triple from behind the arc to bring the Bonnies within two for the first time since the game's opening minutes.

The Rams quickly rebuilt their advantage thanks to a 16-6 run to close the game. Half of Rhode Island's final 16 tallies came at the stripe as the Rams connected on 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

The Rams out-scored St. Bonaventure 24-7 midway through the first half to enter the locker room with a 30-24 advantage at the break. Despite their offensive woes to begin the game, the Brown and White trailed by only six points thanks to an 8-3 run to close the first frame. Bona played from behind for 33:51 of the contest and converted on just six first half field goals over the opening 17-plus minutes of action before connecting on four quick buckets in the final 2:46.

Murray was her club's only offensive bright spot to open the game as she reached double digits with 10 points.

Following a slow start, the Bonnies tallied six straight points to take an early 9-3 lead just over four minutes into the game. Murray accounted for four of the Bonnies' points and capped the spurt with a fast break lay up after intercepting a Ram's pass at mid-court.

Rhode Island made up for its lackluster beginning and gained control of the contest over the next 3:56 span to the tune of a 15-9 advantage. The Rams recorded a 12-0 spurt sparked by a pair of three-pointers from McGrew and Safi Mojidi before adding three more baskets in the paint.

Murray knocked down the club's first three of the game at the 10:58 mark to break nearly five minutes of scoreless basketball for Bona, while trimming the Rhody lead to three-points.

However, the Rams responded again with 12 of the game's next 16 points to gain their largest lead of the half at 27-16 with just over four minutes remaining. Edwards accounted for the club's only field goal during the stretch as the only other Bonnies' points came at the line.

In danger of posting their worst first half offensive performance of the season, the Brown and White registered eight of their 24 points in the final 2:46 to slice the double digit deficit to just six points at intermission. Mitchell produced half of her club's points down the stretch thanks to a short pull up jumper and easy up with less than a minute remaining.