Mitchell leads with 16 points; Walker grabs game-high nine boards

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – A solid defensive effort by the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team led to a convincing 67-37 victory against Akron in the team's home opener at the Reilly Center on Sunday afternoon.

St. Bonaventure shot 51 percent (25-49) from the field and 78 percent from the charity stripe, in a game that it never trailed. The Bonnie defense held Akron to 30 percent (11-36) shooting from the floor. Akron only had six offensive rebounds and four second-chance points. The Bonnies scored 26 points off 24 turnovers and the pressure defense did not allow an Akron player to score more than six points.

Senior Dana Mitchell led the team with a game-high 16 points on 7-of-11 from the field in only 25 minutes of action. Sophomores Megan Van Tatenhove and Armelia Horton each dumped in 11 points, while a total of five players scored eight or more points.

The Bonnies opened up the game on a 13-4 run ending with a jumper from freshman Alaina Walker at the 13:38 mark while a three-pointer from Van Tatenhove highlighted the run. The Brown and White scored on four of their first five possessions, forcing three Akron turnovers.

Mitchell gave the Brown and White their first double-digit lead off a jumper and a pair of free throws with under two minutes to go in the first, for a 27-14 lead.

Over the last 1:56, Akron held St. Bonaventure scoreless and trimmed a 13-point deficit to seven as a Jolene Tamboue layup put the score to 27-20 as time expired in the first period.

Opening the second stanza, St. Bonaventure went on a game-changing 19-4 run that lasted until the 10:06 mark in the half. The end result gave the Bonnies to a commanding 46-24 lead with freshman Chelsea Bowker tossing in the three-pointer to close the 22-point advantage. All four of Akron's points came from the line as the Zips were scoreless on six from the field and committed eight turnovers during the lull.

Akron got a pair of free throws from Rachel Tecca and a 3-pointer from Katie Bubna to cut the Akron deficit to 19 at the 9:38 mark before the Bonnies hit three treys to pull away for the win.

Walker grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while senior Andrea Doneth passed out a game-high four assists, including one on each of the second half trifectas.

Bowker went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and on the line for eight points. Sophomore Jessica Jenkins went 2-for-2 on threes in the second half to end with eight points, while Linsey Niles hit her first career three to total five points.

The Zips were led by Kara Murphy and Rachel Tecca with six points each.

St. Bonaventure is back in action, playing its third game in five days, when it travels to Big 4 rival Canisius on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Tip-off at the Koessler Athletic Center is set for 7 p.m.