Feb. 21, 2009

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The St. Bonaventure women's basketball team built up an 18-point lead in the first half, but couldn't hold on down the stretch as it dropped its second straight Atlantic 10 contest 66-60 to George Washington on Saturday afternoon at the Smith Center.

With the loss, the Bonnies fall to 19-8 on the season and 8-4 in A-10 play. George Washington, on the other hand, keeps up its solid play of late winning its third A-10 game in a row to improve to 17-10 overall and 9-3 in conference.

The loss also hurts St. Bonaventure in the standings because George Washington now moves past them into sole possession of third place in the A-10, while the Brown and White drop all the way down to fifth place in the conference as a result of Temple's win over Richmond earlier today.

Senior Katelyn Murray led the Brown and White with a game-high 23 points, her fourth 20-plus scoring performance of the season. Murray was 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from downtown for the game. Freshman Armelia Horton also had a solid showing for the visitors, tallying 10 points on 4-of-7 from the field.

For the game, St. Bonaventure shot 33 percent (20-61) from the field and 38 percent (6-16) from beyond the three-point line. George Washington shot 41 percent (23-56) from the field and 78 percent (14-18) from the charity stripe.

The Bonnies would jump out to an early 5-3 lead thanks to five-straight points by sophomore Cara Gustafson . The Brown and White would extend their lead after a three-pointer by Murray, making the score 11-5 St. Bonaventure with 13:39 left in the first half.

The three-point barrage by the Bonnies would continue, as freshman Jessica Jenkins would nail a trifecta to put St. Bonaventure up 16-8 with 11:29 left in the first. Murray would follow suit by hitting the Brown and White's fourth long range field goal in the first 10 minutes of play, making the score 19-8.

Back-to-back scores by Horton and an old-fashion three-point play by junior Dana Mitchell would see the Brown and White double up the Colonials on the score board, 28-14, with 6:39 to go in the first stanza.

George Washington would try to claw its way back into the game after Ivy Abiona converted an old-fashion three-point play of her own to bring the home team within 13, at 30-17, with 5:58 remaining in the first half.

Murray would keep the Brown and White up big with back-to-back scores, on a jumper and her third three-pointer of the half, to give the Bonnies their biggest lead of the first period at 35-17 with 4:50 left until halftime.

The Colonials would rally after Murray's scores, however, using a 9-0 over the last 4:50 of the half, trimming St. Bonaventure's lead down to 35-26 going into intermission.

Murray was a force in the first period, scoring 16 points on 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point territory.

The teams would come out of intermission trading buckets over the first few minutes of the half before the home team began to take control. George Washington would close the gap using an 8-2 run , capped off by an Antelia Parrish floater, to make the score 46-44 Bona with 8:05 left in the second half.

Murray would try to break the home teams momentum with a driving lay in to put the Brown and White up 50-46 with 7:02 left in the game.

The Colonials would keep attacking using their aggressiveness and size on the interior to go on another run, however, this time of the 14-2 variety. An old-fashion three-point play by Tara Booker would put George Washington out in front 60-52 with 3:06 left in regulation.

The Bonnies would try to mount a comeback using a three-point play by Horton and a pair of free throws by Mitchell to pull within three at 60-57 with 1:45 left in the game.

George Washington made sure there would be no such attempt by the Brown and White, however, hitting all six of their free throw attempts in the final minute of the game to secure the victory. Mitchell chipped in 12 points in the loss, extending her double-digit scoring streak in A-10 play up to 14 games.

St. Bonaventure will return to action this Wednesday, when it travels to the state of Missouri to take on Saint Louis in its last road game of the regular season. Gametime is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. and can be watched live on Bonnies All-Access on www.GoBonnies.com.