Feb. 25, 2009
Box Score
SAINT LOUIS, Mo. -
The St. Bonaventure women's basketball team dropped another tough Atlantic 10 contest, its third in a row, 64-57 at Saint Louis on Wednesday evening at the Chaifetz Arena.
With the loss, the Bonnies drop to 19-9 on the season and 8-5 in A-10 play. Saint Louis, on the other hand, improves to 12-16 overall and 6-7 in conference.
Free throw shooting was an issue all night long for the Brown and White. St. Bonaventure, who came into the game shooting 73 percent from the charity stripe on the season, shot just 33 percent (5-15) in tonight's contest.
The Bonnies were led by junior Dana Mitchell who poured in a game-high 17 points on 7-of-9 from the field to go along with five rebounds. Freshman Megan Van Tatenhove also had a solid showing for the visitors, notching the Brown and White's first double-double of the season with identical totals of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
For the game, St. Bonaventure shot 41 percent (24-58) from the field and 29 percent (4-14) from beyond the three-point line. Saint Louis shot 44 percent (24-55) from the field and 67 percent (14-21) from the charity stripe.
The Bonnies started the game on an 8-2 run thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by junior Andrea Doneth and senior Erica Schiefen. The Brown and White would extend their lead on another trifecta, this time by Murray, to make the score 11-5 with 16:33 remaining in the first.
Saint Louis would respond to St. Bonaventure's fast start with a 10-4 run. A lay in by Amanda Kemezys would cap the run and bring the Billikens within one, at 15-14 with 9:58 left in the first stanza.
Sophomore Cara Gustafson would keep the Bonnies ahead with a driving lay in to make the score 19-16 St. Bonaventure with 6:32 to go to intermission.
Saint Louis would assume command of game from there, using an 11-3 run over the next five minutes of the game. A jumper by Teresa Lisch would put SLU out in front 25-22 with just 1:22 left in the first.
The teams would trade scores over the last 1:22 of the half to make the score 29-26 Saint Louis heading into halftime.
The Brown and White struggled offensively in the first shooting just 37 percent from the field. They did, however, hold down the A-10's leading scorer Lisch to just six points on 2-7 from the field to keep the game close.
St. Bonaventure would come out of intermission strong scoring the first four points of the second half. A lay in by Van Tatenhove would put the Bonnies back out in front 30-29 with16:17 remaining in the second half.
The Billikens would not let the Bonnies establish any momentum as they would take back the lead using a 6-0 run. A lay in by Lauren Woods would put Saint Louis ahead by five, 35-30, with 14:24 left in the game.
Mitchell would keep the Brown and White within reach after converting a lay in to make the score 37-34 SLU. Saint Louis would not let up, however, continuing its hot shooting in the second half by going on another scoring run, this time of the 14-4 variety. A trifecta by Janisha Gearlds would put the Billikens up 51-38 with 7:46 to go in the second half.
Van Tatenhove tried to keep St. Bonaventure within reach after finishing an old-fashion three-point play to bring the Bonnies with 10 at 51-41, with 7:32 left in the game.
The home team would not allow that to happen, however, as Gearalds again would have an answer for SLU. The freshman guard would step up and hit another clutch long range field goal to give Saint Louis its largest lead of the game at 58-44 with 4:44 to go.
That is where the Billikens lead would stay for the remaining stretch of the game, as St. Bonaventure would get no closer than seven points on the game's final field goal.
Murray chipped in 11 points for the game on 5-of-10 from the field, her fourth double figure scoring performance in her last five games.
Leading the way for the Billikens with 13 points on 5-of-9 from the field was Kemezys. Lisch ended up finishing the game with a hard-earned 12 points on 3-of-14 from the field to go along with six rebounds in the win.
St. Bonaventure will return to action this Saturday, when it welcomes Charlotte to the Reilly Center for its last game of the regular season. Gametime is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and seniors Priscilla Edwards, Katelyn Murray, Erica Schiefen and Ashley Edwards will be honored before their final home contest.
