Feb. 10, 2009
Box Score
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -
Senior Katelyn Murray scored a game-high 16 points, including 13 in the first half, and for the ninth time this season the Bona defense held an opponent to under 50 points, as St. Bonaventure held on for a 54-48 Atlantic 10 win over Rhode Island on Tuesday night at the Reilly Center.
Murray's big night put her over 1,000 points for her career, making her the 17th player in program history to accomplish the feat.
The win is the third consecutive for the Bonnies' (18-6), equaling the program record for wins in a season with 18 set by last year's club. The three-game A-10 win streak is St. Bonaventure's third in the last two seasons and puts them in sole possession of third place in the league standings at 7-2.
The win didn't come without some drama, though, as Rhode Island knotted the score at 45-45 with just over two minutes to play after trailing the entire opening 47 minutes and 48 seconds.
Despite being held in check for a large part of the game, the Brown and White turned to All-Conference forward Dana Mitchell, who's jumper from just inside the left arc rattled home to give the home team a 47-45 lead with 1:41 to play.
A defensive stop and pair of free throws on the other end from Murray and junior Andrea Doneth pushed it to a full one-possession game, at 49-46, with a minute remaining. Murray got to the line by drawing a foul with one second remaining on the shot clock, while Doneth corralled the offensive rebound on Murray's second attempt and was fouled.
Rhode Island came up empty on its next possession, missing the front end of a 1-and-1, giving the ball back to the Bonnies.
Still down three, the Rams fouled Mitchell un-intentionally with 19 seconds left. Mitchell calmly sank both free throws to push it to a five-point advantage, at 51-46.
The Rams were able to get a quick layup to pull within three, 51-48, but the Brown and White connected on 3-of-4 from the foul line in the final seconds to clinch the win.
"We knew this game would be a grind and I'm very proud of the way we defended, especially down the stretch" said head coach Jim Crowley, who captured his 52nd win in the last three seasons and snapped a two-game losing streak to the Rams. "We needed to find a way to win today and thankfully we did that."
A recent ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 1 selection for the second straight season, Murray sank 5-of-14 from the field, highlighted by a trio of threes, that resulted in her 46th career game in double figures.
Senior point guard Priscilla Edwards finished in double figures for the second game in a row with 13 points despite playing just 16 minutes due to foul trouble. Mitchell upped her double-digit scoring streak to 11 games with 11 points, including five in the final two minutes.
The only thing hotter than Murray on the night was the Bona defense, as it improved to 8-1 when holding an opponent to under 50 points. Rhode Island connected on just 33 percent (16-48) from the field, including 0-of-8 from long range.
It was all Bonnies early and often as Murray got her 1,000th point out of the way by the first media timeout with the home team holding a commanding 12-4 lead, highlighted by a 9-0 start. Fittingly, Murray accomplished the milestone by hitting her 172nd career three-pointer and finished it off by sinking a pair of shots from the free throw line where she is a career 80 percent shooter.
Leading 14-4 after another Murray jumper of the two-pointer variety, the Brown and White hit an offensive wall. Rhode Island climbed back into the game with a 10-2 run that featured just one Bona field goal over a five-minute and 36 second span. The URI scoring spurt made it a 16-14 contest with exactly eight minutes remaining.
Again, it was Murray coming to the rescue, burying her third long range field goal of the period to put an end to the Rhode Island run to make it 20-14.
An Erica Schiefen triple with 4:53 remaining stretched the Bona lead to seven, 23-16, but the Rams refused to go away, scoring the next five points to cut it to 23-21.
The final two buckets of the half were in the favor of the Brown and White, as athletic moves by both freshman Armelia Horton (Harlem, N.Y./Murry Bergtraum) and Edwards resulted in layups and a 27-21 halftime lead.
Neither team clicked on all cylinders offensively in the first half, except for Murray who equaled her team season-high for first half points with 13. As always, the Bona defense did its part, as Rhode Island's 21 points in the opening 20 minutes marked the 21st time this season the Bonnies have held an opponent under 30 points in the first half.
Horton led the Bonnies with seven rebounds, while sophomore Cara Gustafson had a solid game with five points and five rebounds over 26 minutes.
St. Bonaventure will play its final weekend road game in A-10 play this Saturday when it heads to the Bronx to take on Fordham (8-17, 1-9). Gametime at historic Rose Hill Gymnasium is slated for 1 p.m. and can be watched live on Bonnies All-Access on www.GoBonnies.com .
