Feb. 28, 2009
Box Score
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -
The St. Bonaventure women's basketball team battled its way to a milestone 73-65 Atlantic 10 win over Charlotte on Senior Day at the Reilly Center.
The win is the Bonnies' 20th on the season, making this year's 2008-09 team the first 20-win squad in program history. The victory also gave the Brown and White nine conference wins, breaking the previous record of eight set by the 1991-92 and 1993-94 squads.
The Bonnies improve to 20-9 overall and 9-5 in A-10 play with the win, putting them a half game ahead of Duquesne and Richmond for the fifth seed in next week's Atlantic 10 Tournament. On the flip side, Charlotte drops to 20-8 overall and 11-3 in the A-10, as it now has to wait to see what Temple does tomorrow to determine its seed in the A-10 Tournament.
Even with today's huge win, the Brown and White still need some help if they want to improve their A-10 Tournament seed. For the Brown and White to get the fifth seed, they would need both Duquesne and Richmond to lose their respective games tomorrow since they don't own the tiebreaker over either of them. For the Bonnies to get the sixth seed, they would need to have either Richmond or Duquesne lose tomorrow to slide into sixth.
Junior Dana Mitchell had a monster game for St. Bonaventure, tallying a game-high 21 points on 9-of-11 from the field to go along with team-highs of six rebounds and five assists. Seniors Katelyn Murray and Erica Schiefen, playing in the final home game of their careers, went out in style scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively.
For the game, the Bonnies shot a blistering 54 percent (27-50) from the field and 73 percent (11-15) from the free throw line. Charlotte's numbers offensively were just as impressive, shooting 43 percent (26-61) from the field and 47 percent (6-13) from beyond the three-point line.
The Brown and White would come out red-hot, hitting its first five shots of the game. A three-pointer from the short corner by Schiefen and a lay in by fellow senior Ashley Edwards, on consecutive possessions, would give the Bonnies a 12-6 lead with 15:45 left in the first half.
St. Bonaventure would stay out in front thanks to another trifecta by Schiefen and an acrobatic driving lay in by the Bonnies fourth senior, Priscilla Edwards to make the score 19-8 with 11:44 to go in the first.
The long range shooting clinic would continue for the Brown and White. Freshman Megan Van Tatenhove would step back and nail her second three-pointer of the season to make the score 26-8. Just moments later, sophomore Cara Gustafson would nail the Bonnies fifth three-pointer of the half, to put St. Bonaventure up 29-11 with 6:36 remaining in the first.
The teams would trade scores over the next five minutes of the half, with Erin Floyd converting a pair of free throws for Charlotte just before half to cut the Brown and White's lead down to 15, at 33-18 going into intermission.
The 18 points allowed by the Bonnies defense was the third lowest total given up in the first half to an opponent all season.
The 49ers would come out of intermission looking like a different team offensively, going on a 10-3 run over the first five minutes of the second half. A fast break lay in by Traci Ray would make the score 36-28 St. Bonaventure with 14:45 left in the second half. Back-to-back scores by freshman Brittany Carter would all but erase the Brown and White's 15-point halftime lead and bring Charlotte to within two, at 36-34 with 13:12 to go in the game.
St. Bonaventure could do nothing right over the first nine minutes of the second stanza, making only one field goal while turning the ball over seven times over the stretch. The Bonnies would finally snap out of it thanks to lay ups by junior Dana Mitchell and senior Katelyn Murray, on consecutive possessions, to put the Brown and White up 41-36 with 11:04 left in regulation.
The 49ers would keep the game close, however, after a three-pointer by Aysha Jones cut the Brown and White's lead down to just 49-45 with 7:50 left in the second stanza.
A pair of seniors would answer right back for the Bonnies, as Murray and Schiefen would connect on back-to-back three-pointers to increase St. Bonaventure's lead up to 57-47 with 5:50 left in the game.
Just when it looked like the Brown and White would start to pull away, the 49ers would use the three-point line to their advantage to get right back in the game. Back-to-back trifectas by Shannon McCallum would make the score 60-56 St. Bonaventure with just 4:28 remaining.
The game remained close heading down to the stretch, with both teams trading scores heading into the final minute of the game. A clutch baseline jumper by Mitchell would make the score 68-63 St. Bonaventure with just 50 seconds left. Ray, desperate for a quick Charlotte score, raced down the court and took a jumper that was blocked by Priscilla Edwards. Murray would grab the deflection and calmly make both of her free throws to put St. Bonaventure up for good, 71-63.
Priscilla Edwards also had a solid game for the Brown and White on her senior day, putting in eight points on 3-of-5 from the field to go along with three assists.
Taking the team-high scoring honor for the 49ers was Aysha Jones, who poured in 19 points on 7-of-18 from the field. The Brown and White did a great job of containing 6-foot-5 center Danielle Burgin, holding her to just six points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
St. Bonaventure will now have to wait for tomorrow's A-10 action to see what seed it will have and who it will play in the conference tournament. The first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 6, in Charlotte, N.C in the Halton Arena.
