Jan. 10, 2009

Box Score

ST BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Behind a stellar game by junior Dana Mitchell, the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team pulled out a 62-57 victory over La Salle on Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center.

With today's win, the Bonnies were victorious in their A-10 opener for the first time since the 2002-03 season.

Mitchell led the Bonnies with a season-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field. Senior Katelyn Murray had a solid all-around game for the Brown and White as well, scoring nine points, grabbing three rebounds and notching three steals in the win.

Mitchell was a force on the offensive end of the floor all day for the Brown and White. The Fairless Hills Pa. products 17 field goals attempted were eight more than the next closest Bonnie. Mitchell's 27 points broke her previous season-high of 24 points set on Nov. 30 in a loss to Oakland.

St. Bonaventure moves to 12-4 with the victory and 1-0 in A-10 play, while La Salle drops to 9-7 on the season and 0-1 in A-10 play after the loss.

The Brown and White's 12-4 start this season ties a program best after 16 games, matching the 12-4 mark set by last year's squad. St. Bonaventure has also won four games in a row after today's win, making this their second four-game winning streak of the season.

The Brown and White would jump out to an early lead, starting the game on a 10-0 run led by Murray who had four points during the rally.

A jumper by Jamie Walsh would finally put La Salle on the board five minutes into the game, at 10-2.

A lay-in by Mitchell would extend the Bona lead back into double figures at 18-8, with 10:17 to go in the first half. La Sale would not let St. Bonaventure gain any further separation, as the Explorers would score on their next two possessions to make the score 20-16 with 7:12 remaining in the first.

A 6-0 run by Mitchell on the Bonnies next three possessions would put St. Bonaventure back up 10, at 26-16.

Four-straight free throws by the Explorers would cut the Brown and White's lead down to six, but Cara Gustafson would hit a three-pointer from the short corner to put St. Bonaventure up 31-22 going into half.

Mitchell finished the first with 12 points, while Gustafson tallied identical totals of five points and five rebounds apiece in the stanza.

The Explorers would score on their first two possessions coming out of intermission to bring La Salle within five for the first time since the middle of the first half. A lay-in by Morgan Robertson would close the gap to three, at 31-28.

The Bonnies would finally get on the board in the second half in a big way. A three-pointer by Jessica Jenkins would keep the lead with the Brown and White, at 34-30.

The bucket by Jenkins would seem to awaken the team as St. Bonaventure would receive scores on back-to-back possessions by Priscilla Edwards and Armelia Horton to put the Bonnies up eight with 15:15 to go in the game.

The Brown and White could not keep their offensive momentum going, however, as the Bonnies would go cold again failing to score a point over the next five minutes of the game.

The Explorers would tale take full advantage with back-to-back three-pointers by Margaret Elderton and Lapetina to tie up the game at 40-40. La Salle would come all the way back to take their first lead of the game after a pair of free throws by Ashley Gale.

Mitchell would end the St. Bonaventure scoreless drought with back-to-back jumpers on consecutive possessions to tie the game for the second time at 44-44 with 7:31 left in the game.

Mitchell would come through again for the Bonnies hitting another jumper as St. Bonaventure would retake the lead at 48-47 with 5:09 to go in the second half.

After the teams traded scores on their next two possessions, Mitchell would once again step up and hit another jumper from the right elbow to put the Brown and White up two, 55-53, with 3:06 to go in the game.

After a lay-in by Gale to tie the game up at 55-55, the Bonnies would take the lead for good in a very surprising manner. Mitchell would step back behind a screen and hit a straight-away three-pointer, only her second of the season, to give the Brown and White a three point cushion, at 58-55 with only 1:33 left.

A defensive stop by St. Bonaventure on La Salle's next possession would give Mitchell a chance to ice the game, but she missed the front end of a one-and-one. Andrea Doneth would out-hustle a La Salle player to grab the offensive rebound for the Bonnies and hit two clutch free-throws after being fouled to seal the deal.

For the game, the Brown and White shot 48 percent (25-52) from the field and held a slight edge on the glass over La Salle 32-31.

The Explorers were led by Elderton, who scored 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field. As a team, La Salle shot just 35 percent (18-51) from the field for the game and 23 percent (4-17) from the three-point line.

The Brown and White will be back in action, as they look to move to 2-0 in A-10 play, on Saturday, January, 17 when they welcome UMass to the Reilly Center for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.