Notes: St. Bonaventure | Sacred Heart | A-10
The women's basketball team (8-4) will face Sacred Heart (7-4) Tuesday afternoon at 2 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools..
Fairfield, Conn. – This will be the first of three games in six days for St. Bonaventure after playing just three games the previous 21 days. The Bonnies are coming off a split at the UTSA Holiday Classic in San Antonio, Texas, with a 58-53 loss to Middle Tennessee State and a 46-37 win over the host Roadrunners. St. Bonaventure has won seven of its last nine after starting the season 1-2. Sacred Heart enters its final non-conference game riding a four-game winning streak following a 69-60 win at Harvard on Dec. 22.
Last Time Out
With offense at a premium last Tuesday night, the Bonnies won yet another game on the defensive end, holding UTSA (4-7) to a season-low point total en route to a 46-37 victory in the final game of the UTSA Holiday Classic. Junior Jessica Jenkins led all scorers with 15 – her highest output since netting 21 at Niagara on Nov. 24.
Difference Makers?
Both teams come in averaging below 60 points a game, with Bonaventure at 57.9 and SHU at 59.9. The Pioneers are 0-4 when they don't reach 60 points, and are 7-0 when they get above that total. The Bonnies enter the game allowing its opponents to score just an average of 51.5 a game – good for 18th in the country. They have also only allowed two opponents all year to get over that 60-point plateau.
Scouting Sacred Heart
-- SHU was picked to finish third in the 12-team Northeast Conference Preseason Poll
-- Senior captain, and second-leading scorer, Alisa Apo, missed the second half of the Pioneers' win over Harvard with an injury
-- Apo was a Preseason NEC First Team selection, and with her current total of 386 assists is second in program history, needing just nine helpers to become the leader in that category
-- The Pioneers are 5-0 when leading at the half, and 7-0 when leading with 10 minutes to play; however, they are 0-4 when trailing at that point in the game
-- SHU has played one other A-10 member this year, dropping a 67-49 decision at home to Saint Joseph's
All-Time Against The NEC
St. Bonaventure currently owns a 26-4 all-time record against schools from the Northeast Conference, and hasn't lost to an NEC member since a 84-77 setback to Saint Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 30, 2003. Since then, the Bonnies have won 10 straight against NEC foes, including a 66-47 win earlier this year over Quinnipiac.
Lovin' New England
St. Bona has won five consecutive games in New England, dating back to a 56-48 loss at the hands of Rhode Island on Jan. 19, 2008. Here's a quick glance at the last five trips SBU has made to N.E.:
Jan. 2, 2009 @ Bryant, 67-58
Jan. 4, 2009 @ Yale, 68-35
Dec. 2, 2009 @ Quinnipiac, 77-67
Feb. 2, 2010 @ Massachusetts, 69-54
Feb. 27, 2010 @ Rhode Island, 63-53
Helping Hands
In three of the last four games, including both contests in Texas, nine players logged double-figure minutes. This marked the first time all year that has happened in back-to-back games.
A (Relative) Texas-Sized Homecoming
Austin native Jennie Ashton returned to her home state of Texas last week, and left with back-to-back career nights in front of family and friends. On Dec. 20 against Middle Tennessee State, she nearly doubled her career high in points as she finished with a career-best five in 10 minutes. The following night she again logged 10 minutes, marking the first time in her career she had played double-figure minutes in consecutive games.
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-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. (Stats from most recent NCAA rankings).
Looking For Another Sub-30
Four times this year already 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.
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.
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. She then followed that up by getting back into double-figure scoring with point totals of 21 and 12 against Middle Tennessee State and UTSA, respectively, in the UTSA Holiday Classic; good enough to place her on the All-Tournament Team.
Deadly From Distance
Jessica Jenkins is rapidly moving up the St. Bonaventure career 3-point list. The junior currently sits in fourth place on the all-time list with 158 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.
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. And then followed that performance up with a zero and two-point effort in two games at the UTSA Holiday Classic.
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 2-4 when it has more turnovers than its opponent, and 6-0 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 1.4 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 one St. Bonaventure player has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Freshman CeCe Dixon has issued 17 assists while coughing up The Rock 15 times, for a 1.13 ratio. Redshirt junior Armelia Horton is close, as she currently has 31 dimes and 31 giveaways, for exactly a 1.00 ratio.
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 UTSA, St. Bonaventure's record is four games over .500 for the second time this year. The Bonnies have won seven of nine 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
St. Bonaventure returns home to face No. 6/7 West Virginia on Thursday evening at 7. The Mountaineers will not only be the second of three Bona opponents in six days, but will also represent the highest ranked team ever to play at the Reilly Center against St. Bonaventure. Last time West Virginia and St. Bonaventure met was in the opening round of the WNIT in 2009, and St. Bonaventure erased an early deficit to come away with a 68-63 win.
