Game Notes: St. Bonaventure | MTSU | Atlantic 10
The women's basketball team (7-3) will face Middle Tennessee State (7-3) Monday night in the opening round of the UTSA Holiday Classic in San Antonio, Texas, at 5 p.m. (EST).
Monday Night's Matchup
St. Bonaventure enters Monday night's game having not played in 10 days, riding a four-game winning streak and looking for its first five-game stretch since Feb. 14-Mar. 5 last season. After opening the season 1-2 for the first time in six years, the Bonnies have rattled off six of seven, with the lone loss in that stretch coming at home to No. 18 St. John's, 55-44. Middle Tennessee State enters with an identical 7-3 record as Bona's, coming off an 81-75 win Dec. 12 against James Madison. This will be the first meeting between the Bonnies and Blue Raiders, and will be the opening game of the UTSA Holiday Classic.
Last Time Out
Chelsea Bowker scored a career-high 21 points, Jessica Jenkins finished in double figures for the first time in five games with 14 points and the Bonnies used an extended 14-3 second-half run to clinch its 12th straight win over a Big 4 school Dec. 10 against Buffalo, 56-47. The 47 points was a season-low for the Bulls, and signified the third consecutive game the Bonnies have held their opponent to 50 points or fewer.
Difference Makers?
Bonaventure has held six of its 10 opponents this year to 50 points or fewer, including a current streak of three straight. The Bonnies come into tonight's game statistically as the 21st hardest defense in the country, allowing opponents to score just 52.3 points a game. On the other side of the ball, MTSU allows its opponents to score 65.7 a game, 209th in the country. The Blue Raiders also turn the ball over at a clip of 21.8 a game, 293rd in America, while the Bonnies come in ranked 15th in the nation in that category at just 14.3 giveaways per outing.
Scouting Middle Tennessee State
-- MTSU has become one of the best mid-majors in the country, as it has been to 13 NCAA tournaments in its 35-year history
-- The Blue Raiders were selected to finish second in the 12-team Sun Belt Conference, as they have 11 players who are either freshmen or sophomores
-- All three of their losses this year have come to teams who have posted a combined 27-4 record (as of 12/19: Xavier, 10-0; Arkansas, 10-0; Georgia Tech, 7-4)
-- When the Blue Raiders fail to score 60 points they are 0-3 on the year, and 3-17 in 6th-year head coach Rick Insell's tenure
-- Freshman Ebony Rowe leads the Blue Raider attack as she has already recorded three double-doubles, and averages 16.3 points and nine rebounds per outing
Rick Insell led the Blue Raiders to unprecedented heights in 2006-07, including the program's highest-ever national ranking, a Sun Belt regular season title and a fourth straight Sun Belt Tournament championship.
Insell has helped elevate the program into the national spotlight as well, with a victory at then No. 8 Georgia on Dec. 8, 2006, showcasing the program. The victory in Athens was the first in program history over a ranked team on the road and just the fifth victory over a ranked foe in the then-31-year history of the Middle Tennessee program.
The Blue Raiders won 27 games in a row at one point, the longest streak in the nation at the time, and did not lose for more than 100 days. The squad was ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time since 1988 and had its first ever national ranking in the Associated Press poll. The Blue Raiders ended the year ranked No. 17 by the AP and No. 23 by the coaches.
Middle Tennessee eclipsed the school record for victories in a season, posting a 30-4 overall record, besting the previous mark of 26 wins set by the 1982-83 squad. The 2006-07 team also tied the record for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, tying a mark set from 1983-86, and collected the program's fourth consecutive 20-win campaign, also a school record.
All-Time Against The Sun Belt
This will be St. Bonaventure's first-ever meeting against a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
Welcome Home
The Bonnies' participation in the UTSA Holiday Classic will serve as a homecoming for Austin native Jennie Ashton. The junior forward graduated in 2008 from McCallum High School, about an hour-and-15 minute drive northeast from San Antonio. Ashton has already played 52 minutes in nine games this year after logging just 43 combined minutes in her first two seasons. She also established a career high in rebounds against Canisius on Dec. 7 when she pulled down five in a 74-41 win.
Big 4 Dominance
With its win over Buffalo on Dec. 10, St. Bonaventure has now swept each of its Big 4 rivals for the third consecutive year, and in the process claimed their 12th straight win over Big 4 schools. In 2007-08, Bonaventure and Buffalo did not meet, but the Bonnies swept both Niagara and Canisius. The last Big 4 school to defeat the Bonnies was Niagara on Nov. 14, 2006, when the Purple Eagles downed the Bonnies in the Gallagher Center, 71-64.
Triple Threat Triathlete
Head coach Jim Crowley challenged sophomore Chelsea Bowker to get into better playing shape following the end of last year. So, the Salem, Ohio native did just that by training with a triathlete all summer. She's now starting to see the work pay off, as she's tied or broken her career high in points four times already this year, including five 3-pointers in the Bona win at Marist on Dec. 4, and then equally that career high at Buffalo on Dec. 10.
Among The Nation's Best
As a team, St. Bonaventure is the fourth-best free shooting club in the entire nation, currently connecting at an 80.4 percent clip. Both Megan Van Tatenhove and Armelia Horton are shooting 88.9 percent, ranking them as the 34th-best free throw shooters in the country.
Looking For Another Sub-30
Four times in the last seven games St. Bonaventure has held its opponent below 30-percent shooting. St. Bonaventure held Quinnipiac to 27.8 percent in its win on Nov. 21. Three days later, the Bonnies held Niagara to just 28.8 percent, including a 20.8-percent clip in the second half. Against Marist on Dec. 4, the Bonnies held the Red Foxes to a season-low 28.6 percent, and against Canisius on Dec. 7 they did the same thing as they held the Griffs to just 29.4 percent. The Bonnies held just one opponent below 30-percent shooting last season when they finished as the 9th-toughest scoring defense in the country at just 52.7 points per game.
National Trend Setters
St. Bonaventure turned the ball over just four times in its win against Lafayette on Dec. 1, setting the record for fewest turnovers by any team in the country so far this year. It also breaks a regular-season program record of six, set last year in a win over George Washington. The program record for turnovers is three, also set last year in the Bonnies' final game of the season in a loss to visiting Northwestern in the second round of the WNIT. Within the Atlantic 10 Conference, the four turnovers ties St. Bonaventure for the second fewest in the history of the league with Duquesne. Saint Joseph's and Temple share the record with just three giveaways.
Van Tatenhove Still Kinda En Fuego
Junior Megan Van Tatenhove had her streak of scoring in double figures snapped at five games on Dec. 10 at Buffalo, but the Wisconsin product found a way to make up for it in other ways. The team's leading scorer dished out five assists and got into the act defensively as she had six steals, establishing career highs in both categories along the way.
Deadly From Distance
Jessica Jenkins is rapidly moving up the St. Bonaventure career 3-point list. The junior currently sits in a tie for fifth place on the all-time list with 154 made 3's, and if she continues at the pace she has the last two seasons, will head into her senior year in sole possession of third place. With four 3-pointers tonight, she will surpass 1991 graduate Roni Hergenroeder and into sole possession of fourth on the all-time list.
Career Houdini
So far this year, Chelsea Bowker has either had career nights for the Bonnies, or done her best Harry Houdini impression. In six games, the sophomore forward has been held to zero or single-digits points. However, in her other four games she has had career outings. Bowker started this year with point totals of three, six and zero in the team's first three games, respectively. However, the Salem, Ohio native then exploded for a then-career-high 16 points against Quinnipiac on Nov. 21. But then she disappeared for the next two games, scoring one and six points, respectively. Bowker re-appeared on Dec. 1 opposite Lafayette when she tied her career high with 16 points. She then followed that performance up with a career-best 17 points against Marist on Dec. 4 before pulling another Houdini in her next outing on Dec. 7 versus Canisius when she finished with just two points. And then in the team's next game against Buffalo on Dec. 10 she eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the first time when she finished with a career-best 21 points.
Reignited?
Senior Cara Gustafson got her final campaign in the Brown and White off to a fast start as she scored 11 points in 27 minutes off a career-high-tying three 3-pointers in the season-opening win over Binghamton. However, after taking the final shot of regulation she landed awkwardly and missed the team's next game at Indiana with a right ankle sprain. In the six games after, she played just 103 minutes and scored just seven points, going a combined 2-for-12 from the field in those contests. However, against Canisius on Dec. 7, the Nebraska native reignited and scored all 11 of her points in the first half as she logged 26 minutes of action.
Zahn All Nylon
After missing the first eight games of the year – and not even dressing for the first six – with a shoulder injury, freshman Ashley Zahn made her first appearance in the Brown and White late in the Bonnies' win over Canisius on Dec. 7. The Canandaigua, N.Y. product played five minutes and finished with eight points. With just three seconds remaining on the shot clock, Zahn hit nothing but net from the right wing for 3 in her first career field goal attempt. She then hit nothing but net on her subsequent 3-point attempt from the baseline, and nothing but net on two free throw attempts.
The Great Escapes
The Bonnies committed 16 turnovers on Dec. 4 against Marist, while the Red Foxes had just 12 giveaways. That marked the first time this year St. Bonaventure committed more turnovers than its opponent and won the game. The Bonnies then duplicated that feat against Canisius in their next outing when they finished with nine turnovers to the Griffs' eight, but still won the game handily.
Using Her 'Arm's
Redshirt junior Armelia Horton has broken career highs for assists twice this year already. The Harlem, N.Y. native came into this year with a high water mark of three assists in a game. She broke that mark with a five-assist effort in the Bonnies' win over Niagara on Nov. 24, and then exactly one week later broke that career high with a seven-dish performance in a win over Lafayette on Dec. 1.
Turnover Duplication
After finishing 2009-10 as the 7th-best ball-protecting team in the country with just 13.6 turnovers per game, the Bonnies are nearly equaling that total so far this year as they are giving the ball away just 14.3 times per contest. However, the more symbolic figure from that statistic is that St. Bonaventure is 2-3 when it has more turnovers than its opponent, and 5-0 when it has fewer.
Frosh Friends Making New Friends
Freshmen Doris Ortega and CeCe Dixon came to Bonaventure as a package deal from the same high school in Manhattan, and they're starting to let their presence be known on the court. In the Bonnies game against St. John's, Ortega played a career-high 27 minutes off the bench, while Dixon also came off the bench to log 28 minutes. The 55 minutes is the most combined game action the two have seen yet this year, breaking previous highs of 46 in the season opener against Binghamton and 52 at Morgan State. Dixon is doing her best to make friends of her new teammates as well, as the 5-foot-3 guard currently is third on the team in distributing the basketball, issuing 1.7 assists per game.
You Gotta Know When To Hold 'Em; Know When To Fold 'Em
Despite turning the ball over only 14.3 times a game, only two St. Bonaventure players who have played at least 20 minutes per contest have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Freshman CeCe Dixon has issued 17 assists while coughing up The Rock 13 times, for a 1.31 ratio. Redshirt junior Armelia Horton has 26 dimes, compared with 22 giveaways, for a 1.18 ratio.
A List Of Firsts
With St. Bonaventure's loss to St. John's on Nov. 29, a few "firsts" of the year happened for the Bonnies:
-- Their first home loss
-- Their first game allowing an opponent to shoot higher than 42.5 percent
-- Their first game scoring 20 or fewer points in the second half
Don't Remember November
For the first time in four years, the Bonnies finished the month of November without a winning record. The last time Bonaventure failed to achieve that was during the 2006-07 season when it went 3-4 in November.
No Longer Treading Water
With the win over Buffalo on Dec. 10, St. Bonaventure's record is four games over .500 for the first time this year. The Bonnies have won four straight, and six of seven, to get away from a previously unheard of .500 record. When Bona was at, and below, .500 earlier this year, it was the first time that anyone on the roster had ever been at, or below, .500. Prior to this year, the last time St. Bonaventure was at .500 was during the 2006-07 season when on Feb. 15, 2007 it left Saint Joseph's with a loss and had its record level at 13-13.
Next Up
After not playing a single game in 10 days, the Bonnies will return to action Tuesday night, Dec. 21, for their second game in as many nights when they face the host UTSA Roadrunners. It will be the team's final game before Christmas, and the first ever meeting with the Roadrunners, who presently sit at 3-6, with two of those wins over non-Division I teams.
