Feb. 4, 2009

Box Score |  Notes | PHOTO GALLERY

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Solid defense and a balanced rotation helped the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team post an impressive 55-45 Atlantic 10 win over Dayton on Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.

The Bonnies used their hot shooting in the first to build up a 12-point halftime lead. That cushion proved to be enough for the Brown and White as they clamped down defensively in the second half and never looked back.

With its fifth consecutive home win, St. Bonaventure improves in 16-6 on the season and 5-2 in A-10 play. Dayton, who has now lost four games in a row, drops to 13-10 overall and 2-5 in conference play.

Defense once again carried the Bonnies to victory as they held Dayton to a season-low 27 percent (16-59) shooting from the field. The Flyers are the seventh team the Brown and White have held below 50 points this season. St. Bonaventure also had the advantage of playing with the lead for most of the game, as they held the lead for 38:44 out of a possible 40:00 in the game

The Bonnies leading scorer was redshirt freshman Armelia Horton Harlem, N.Y./Murry Bergtraum who tied her season-high pouring in a game-high 13 points on 6-of-9 from the field. Horton also equaled her career-high for rebounds, collecting nine caroms in the victory. The only other player in double figures for the Brown and White was junior Dana Mitchell who scored 10 points to go along with five rebounds.

The Bonnies used a quick 7-0 run over the first two minutes of the game to take control early on. The visiting Flyers would not be rattled by St. Bonaventure's fast start, instead using a 7-0 run of their own to get right back in the game. A three-pointer by Kendel Ross would tie the game up at 7-7 with 16:20 left in the first.

The Brown and White would come right back using an 11-2 scoring run this time, which was fueled by a pair of freshman guards. Horton scored six points during the streak, while Jessica Jenkins capped off the run with a three-pointer from the short corner to make the score 18-11 with 9:30 remaining in the first half.

Jenkins would stay hot as she would drain another three-pointer, this time from straight-away, to make the score 25-13 with 7:46 left. Horton would keep up her strong play as well, slicing her way through the lane for a driving lay in to keep St. Bonaventure's lead in double figures at 29-18.

The Brown and White would receive a score from Mitchell just before half to put the Brown and White up 34-22 going into intermission. St. Bonaventure shot an impressive 52 percent (14-27) from the field and 40 percent from three-point territory in the first.

The second half, however, would be a completely different story for the home team offensively. Dayton would score the first four points of the second half to cut the Bonnies lead down to seven at 34-27.

It would be Horton again, however, who would keep the Brown and White out in front. Horton would score five straight points, including an old-fashioned three-point play, to put St. Bonaventure up 39-29 with 14:44 left in the second half.

Dayton would keep it close as a jumper from Kayla Moses would cut the Bona lead down to just five at 44-39 with 10:04 to go.

Defense would begin to take over after that score, as each team made only one field goal apiece over the next three minutes of the game.

Four straight points by freshman Megan Van Tatenhove would break the drought for the Bonnies and give them the lead for good. A lay in and a pair of free throws would put the Brown and White up 51-41 with just 3:20 left in the game.

The Bonnies would maintain their 10-point lead for the remainder of the game, as St. Bonaventure's defense held the Flyers to just four points over the last three minutes of the contest to secure the victory.

Dayton was led by Kristin Daugherty who tallied 10 points on 4-of-13 from the field. Daugherty was the only player to score in double figures, as the next closest Flyer, Justine Raterman, only scored nine points in the defeat.

St. Bonaventure will be back in action Sunday, Feb. 8, when it travels to Philadelphia to take on Saint Joseph's. Gametime is scheduled for 1 p.m and will be televised on CBS College Sports.