Game Notes: St. Bonaventure | Dayton | A-10
St. Bona (15-7, 5-2 A-10) vs. Dayton (14-7, 5-2 A-10)
Wednesday, Feb. 2 | 7 p.m. | Reilly Center (5,480)
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The Atlantic 10 Conference's best offensive team and its best defensive team meet Wednesday night in the Reilly Center when the Dayton Flyers visit the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. The Flyers lead the A-10 in scoring at 78.9 per game, which also ranks 17th in the nation, while the Bonnies lead the A-10 in scoring defense at 53.0 per game, ranking 13th in the nation. Both teams enter Wednesday's game tied for fourth in the A-10 standings at 5-2. Dayton has won four straight, with its two losses each coming by four points against Duquesne and No. 7 Xavier. St. Bonaventure has won three straight, with its two losses also coming at the hands of Duquesne, by six, and Xavier, by 20. Dayton leads the all-time series, 9-8, with the deciding ninth victory ending the Bonnies' A-10 title run last year, as the Flyers dispatched of Bonaventure in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Championships, 83-66.
Last Time Out
Junior Megan Van Tatenhove finished with a game-high 20 points, a career-high-tying 13 rebounds, a career-high-tying six steals and a career-high three blocks in leading St. Bonaventure to a 62-51 win over Massachusetts (6-16, 2-5 A-10) Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center.
Number Crunching
Dayton has scored more than 75 points in four of its seven A-10 games, and in three of those games it scored more than 80. The Bonnies have allowed just one opponent – Xavier, 76 – to eclipse the 75-point threshold in A-10 play. Aside from Xavier, Morgan State was the lone other opponent to score more than 70 against St. Bonaventure, as the Lady Bears netted 74 earlier this year. Dayton has scored 80 or more points in 10 games this year, while St. Bonaventure has not allowed a single opponent to reach 80. In fact, over the last three years, the Bonnies have surrendered 80 points just twice; last year against Dayton in the A-10 quarters, and in the 2008-09 quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitational against South Florida, 80-66. St. Bonaventure has not allowed a regular-season opponent to reach 80 since Charlotte scored 86 on Feb. 25, 2007.
Scouting Dayton
-- Dayton was picked to finish second in the A-10, and received two first-place votes
-- Already the career leader for wins in UD women's basketball history, head coach Jim Jaber will be looking for his 350th career win
-- The Flyers have used eight different starting lineups this season, but it has been the same starting five for the last 11 games
-- UD is 10-0 in games decided by 16 or more points and 0-4 in games decided by 1-5 points
-- Dayton returns four starters from a squad that advanced to the NCAA Second Round last year
-- Junior Justine Raterman leads the Flyers in scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg)
St. Bonaventure vs. Dayton
Series Quick Facts
Overall: Dayton Leads, 9-8
At St. Bonaventure: St. Bonaventure Leads, 6-1
At Dayton: Dayton Leads, 7-1
At Neutral Site: Tied, 1-1
Most St. Bonaventure Points: 85 (Jan. 3, 2002: 85-74)
Most Dayton Points: 95 (Feb. 20, 2000: 95-71)
Fewest St. Bonaventure Points: 41 (Feb. 25, 2005: 55-41)
Fewest Dayton Points: 45 (Feb. 4, 2009: 55-45)
Largest St. Bonaventure Margin: 15 (Feb. 9, 1999: 72-57)
Largest Dayton Margin: 24 (Feb. 20, 2000: 95-71)
Hard-working. Compassionate. Dedicated.
These are just a few words that come to mind when talking with Jim Jabir. On April 8, 2003, the University of Dayton introduced Jabir as the women's basketball team's eighth head coach and first male head coach in the history of the program.
Since taking over as Dayton's head coach in 2003, Jim Jabir has earned a mark of 90-95 at UD and is 310-318 in 22 years overall. With two Women's National Invitation appearances, two Atlantic 10 Semifinal appearances (the program's highest-ever finish), and 11 A-10 All-Conference performers under his belt while at the helm of the Flyers, Jabir has undoubtedly led the University of Dayton to its most successful stint in modern program history.
Jabir is focused on making success more of the rule than the exception and the results speak for themselves. The Flyers have finished the last two seasons with 20-wins or more and have made back-to-back appearances in the postseason WNIT.
The Flyers 21-14 record in 2008-09 was the second-most wins since the program turned Division I and UD finished the year with most postseason individual honors ever.
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.
Grounding The Flyers At Home
Despite trailing in the overall series, 9-8, St. Bonaventure has gotten the best of Dayton in the Reilly Center. The Bonnies own a 6-1 all-time record against the Flyers in the RC, and UD has not won in the RC since Feb. 20, 2000. However, in that game the Flyers scored the most points in series history in a 95-71 win.
Van Tatenhove En Fuego
Junior Megan Van Tatenhove turned in a career outing in the Bonnies last game against Massachusetts on Saturday. The Wisconsin native poured in a game-high 20 points, tied career highs in rebounds (13) and steals (six) and rejected a career-high three shots. The 13 rebounds and six steals both tie team highs for the year, also set by Van Tatenhove, while the three blocks is a team high on the year. Additionally, with her first point tonight, the forward will score her 900th career point.
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 8th in the nation in free throw shooting (76.8 percent), 12th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (37.5), 13th in the nation in scoring defense (53.0 points per game) and 8th in the nation in turnovers per game (14.0).
Leaders In The Clubhouse
With the season just more than two-thirds of the way over, St. Bonaventure is leading the A-10 in several statistical categories, including scoring defense (53.0), free throw percentage (76.8) and rebounding defense (31.3). The Bonnies are also ranked in the top three in two other statistical categories, including 3-point percentage (37.5/3rd) and defensive rebound percentage (70.7/3rd).
Seeing Double And Triple
Jessica Jenkins had her streak of double-figure scoring games snapped when she netted just eight against UMass on Saturday. However, she has still scored in double figures in nine of her last 11 games. After opening A-10 play with an 0-8 3-point shooting performance against Duquesne, Jenkins is 20-38 (52.6 percent) from beyond the arc in the last six games. Her 20 3's are tied for the second most in conference play. Those long-range shots have also helped her rapidly move up the program's all-time 3-point list, where she currently sits in 4th place with 190 made 3's, just eight shy of moving into sole possession of 3rd.
Something About 19
In the second half of its win over Saint Joseph's Jan. 26, St. Bonaventure held the Hawks to just 19 points. That was the third time through the first six A-10 games that the Bonnies held an opponent to exactly 19 second-half points. The first time they turned that trick was against La Salle after they allowed the Explorers to score 35 in the first half – the most first-half points any team has scored against the Bonnies all year. Bonaventure then repeated that 19-point feat the following game opposite George Washington on Jan. 15 to help earn its first-ever win at the Smith Center (1-16).
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 14.0 times per contest, good for 8th in the nation. However, the more symbolic figure from that statistic is that St. Bonaventure is 4-5 when it turns the ball over more times than its opponent, and 11-2 when it has fewer.
Next Up
St. Bonaventure will hit the road for a matchup against Richmond on Saturday. Tip-off against the Spiders is set for 2 p.m. from the Robins Center.
For more game notes, click here.
