Game Notes: St. Bonaventure | GW | A-10
WASHINGTON, D.C. - St. Bonaventure enters Saturday's 5 p.m. matchup at 11-6 overall and having evened its Atlantic 10 record at 1-1 following a win over La Salle on Wednesday evening. George Washington comes in at 5-10 overall and 0-1 in A-10 play. The Colonials have had a week off since their last game, a 68-55 loss at home to Richmond, and will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak. GW will be the second consecutive opponent the Bonnies will face which entered the game mired in a six-game losing streak, as La Salle came to the Reilly Center Wednesday on such a streak. The Colonials own a 32-3 all-time series advantage, dating back to the 1986-87 season – St. Bonaventure's first in the A-10. However, the Bonnies have won two of the last three meetings, including last season when they held the Colonials to 50 points, their lowest scoring output in series history. The Bonnies will be looking for another historical moment in the series tonight as they enter the game 0-16 all-time in the Charles E. Smith Center.
Last Time Out
St. Bonaventure used a 20-0 run bridging the first and second halves to turn to three-point halftime lead into a 20-point victory over visiting La Salle (4-12, 0-2 A-10) Wednesday night at the Reilly Center, 74-54.
Deciding Factor?
In head coach Mike Bozeman's two-plus years in charge of GW, his team's are 20-13 when scoring at least 60 points, and 8-33 when scoring less than 60. St. Bonaventure enters the game as the 13th-best defense in the entire nation, and the best defense in the A-10, allowing its opponents to score just 52.9 points per game. Only one team has scored more than 60 points against the Bonnies in the last nine games, and that was No. 6/7 West Virginia in a 62-53 loss on Dec. 30. On the season, St. Bonaventure has allowed just three teams to score more than 60 points, as the Bonnies are 1-2 in those games.
Scouting George Washington
-- The Colonials were tabbed to finish 9th in the 14-team A-10 this year
-- They return all five starters and all but one of the team's 10 letterwinners from 2009-10
-- Redshirt senior Ivy Abiona and sophomore Danni Jackson are the only two Colonials who have started all 15 games
-- Junior Tara Booker is the lone Colonial in double-figure scoring, as she enters tonight's game averaging 10.9 per game
-- The only common non-conference opponent GW and St. Bonaventure have played is Morgan State, as the Bonnies fell to the Lady Bears, 74-65, while the Colonials also lost, 70-66, in overtime
-- GW is 0-8 when it allows 60+ points and 1-7 when it is out-rebounded
St. Bonaventure vs. George Washington
Series Quick Facts
Overall: George Washington Leads, 32-3
At St. Bonaventure: George Washington Leads, 14-3
At George Washington: George Washington Leads, 16-0
At Neutral Site: George Washington Leads, 2-0
Most St. Bonaventure Points: 88 (Jan. 28, 1995: 116-88)
Most George Washington Points: 116 (Jan. 28, 1995: 116-88)
Fewest St. Bonaventure Points: 32 (Feb. 1, 1992: 81-32)
Fewest George Washington Points: 50 (Feb. 14, 2010: 74-50)
Largest St. Bonaventure Margin: 24 (Feb. 14, 2010: 74-50)
Largest George Washington Margin: 55 (Jan. 23, 2005: 97-42)
The eighth head coach in the 34-year history of the program, Mike Bozeman helped GW post a composite record of 78-20 (.796 winning percentage), including a 39-5 mark in Atlantic 10 play, during his three seasons as an assistant under Joe McKeown. He led the Colonials to a trio of victories while serving as interim coach during the record-setting 2006-07 season, including an upset of 10th-ranked Georgia and a title at the San Diego Surf `N Slam Classic.
From 1999-2005, Bozeman served as the head girls' basketball coach at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, MD, and put the school on the national map, leading the team to a 151-35 (.812) record in six seasons.
His 2003-04 Bishop McNamara squad was ranked No. 1 in the preseason by Street & Smith's and was tabbed No. 2 in USA Today's preseason poll. The Mustangs finished that year with a 27-1 record and a No. 3 ranking in USA Today's final girls' basketball rankings. Over the course of the 2003-04 campaign, Bishop McNamara claimed the Lone Star Invitational championship, the Dell Curry Invitational crown and the NIKE Tournament of Champions title.
The previous year, Bozeman guided the team to a 27-3 mark, a No. 1 final ranking by The Washington Post and the No. 19 position in USA Today's final Super 25 poll. That year, the Mustangs won the Bishop Walsh Invitational title and the DC City Title championship.
We're Number One
St. Bonaventure is the only school in the nation that has decreased its loss total every single year since the 2004-05 season: 2004-05: 19; 2005-06: 18; 2006-07: 15; 2007-08: 12; 2008-09: 11; 2009-10: 10. Going back even further, the Bonnies have not increased their loss total since the 2002-03 campaign. In that year they lost 22 games, and the following year in 2003-04 finished with 19 losses, a total they tied the next season to start the streak.
Nothing Mid-Major About This
In the latest RPI rankings released on Monday, eight teams in the A-10 were ranked in the top 75 in the nation. Only one conference in the country has more teams ranked in the top 75, and that's the BIG EAST with 10. The ACC, Big 12, SEC and Big Ten all also have eight teams in the top 75. St. Bonaventure is ranked 63rd (out of 343 schools), Xavier 7th, Duquesne 20th, Saint Joseph's 31st, Dayton 46th, Charlotte 53rd, Temple 56th and Richmond 74th.
A 'Bona' Fide Schedule
St. Bonaventure's strength of schedule is 43rd in the country, and one of five A-10 schools in the top 45 in terms of schedule strength (Dayton, 12th; Temple, 40th; Xavier, 41st; Saint Joseph's, 42nd). The Big Ten is the only conference in the country with more teams in the top 45 than the A-10 as it has seven. The BIG EAST and ACC also have five, but the Pac 10 and SEC both have just four and the Big 12 has only three. Additionally, there are nine teams ranked in the top 60 of the RPI that St. Bonaventure has already played, or will play, this year.
Mirror Image
After finishing in the top-10 in the nation in four different statistical categories last year, the Bonnies are looking at repeating those finishes in exactly the same categories again this year. St. Bonaventure is 7th in the nation in free throw shooting (78.6 percent), 25th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (36.6), 13th in the nation in scoring defense (52.9 points per game) and 22nd in the nation in turnovers per game (14.7).
Nothing Like The First Time
In St. Bonaventure's win over La Salle Wednesday, first was a prevalent theme. Freshman Doris Ortega reached double-figure points for the first time this year, finishing with a career-high 12. Sophomore Chelsea Bowker got into the 'first' theme by recording 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. Additionally, that point total gave Bowker three straight games in which she has scored in double figures, marking the first time in her career she has done. And as a team, it was the first time St. Bonaventure has ever beaten La Salle by 20 or more points.
Not Your Typical Quadruple-Doubles
In their game against La Salle Wednesday, the Bonnies put four scorers into double figures for the third time this year, and second in the last three games. Megan Van Tatenhove led the way with 22, followed by 13 from Jessica Jenkins, a career-high 12 from Doris Ortega and 11 from Chelsea Bowker. The Bonnies also put four scorers into double figures against Kent State on Jan. 2, a 67-52 win, and opposite Canisius on Dec. 7, a 74-41 win.
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 174 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.
Helping Hands
In five of its last nine games, nine Bona players have logged double-figure minutes. The most notable addition to the rotation has been junior Jennie Ashton, who after playing just 43 total minutes in her first two seasons has already played 119 in 16 games this year. She also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds against La Salle on Wednesday. The Austin, Texas, native logged a career-high 19 minutes in the Bonnies' win at Sacred Heart on Dec. 28, and has scored 11 points this year after netting just a combined 13 in her first two campaigns.
Oh, Snap … Again … And Again
With her 11-point performance against Kent State, Chelsea Bowker snapped a streak of double-digit career highs. Four times this year she has reached double figures in scoring, and each time it represented a career high for her. She established career highs in scoring against Quinnipiac (16), Lafayette (16), Marist (17) and Buffalo (21). However, in all 11 other games, she has been held to single figures or zero points. The 11 points symbolizes the first time this year she has reached double figures in points and not broken a career high. The sophomore then repeated that feat with a 12-point effort against Duquesne last Saturday and an 11-point performance opposite La Salle Wednesday.
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