Notes: St. Bonaventure | Richmond | Atlantic 10
St. Bona (15-8, 5-3 A-10) vs. Richmond (14-8, 5-3)
Saturday, Feb. 5 | 2 p.m. | Robins Center

RICHMOND, Va. – St. Bonaventure and Richmond enter Saturday's game tied in the Atlantic 10 standings at 5-3. For the Bonnies, this will be their second straight game in which they enter the contest tied in the A-10 with their opponent, as on Wednesday they hosted 5-2 Dayton. Bonaventure will be looking to bounce back from an overtime setback to the Flyers, and in each of its previous five losses the Bonnies have responded with a win in their following game. On the year, St. Bonaventure is 5-1 following a loss. For the Bonnies, this will be the second of four consecutive games in which their opponent is either tied with them, or ranked higher, in the A-10 standings. Richmond leads the all-time series, 8-4, but St. Bona won the last meeting between the two, 58-45, last year. The 45 points the Bonnies held the Spiders to represents the fewest points Richmond has scored in series history.

Last Time Out
Megan Van Tatenhove turned in one of the best scoring performances in St. Bonaventure women's basketball history, but it wasn't enough to overcome 42 points in the paint by Dayton as the Flyers (15-7, 6-2 Atlantic 10) beat the Bonnies in overtime Wednesday evening, 87-80.

Van Tatenhove's Historic Night
Junior Megan Van Tatenhove turned in one of the best scoring performances in St. Bonaventure history Wednesday night against Dayton. She finished with a career-high 35 points, the most points scored by a Bonaventure player since Stefanie Collins netted 36 at Stony Brook on Nov. 22, 2003. The Wisconsin native's performance ranks as the sixth-best in program history, and she finished just six points shy of breaking the all-time mark of 40, set by Sue Shay in 1989. Van Tatenhove's 12 field goals and 42 minutes of game action were also career highs. Additionally, she hit a team-season-high nine free throws. She also got the job done on the glass as she grabbed a team-high eight caroms, while getting her teammates involved as well, finishing with a team-best four assists.

Scouting Richmond
-- Richmond was picked to finish 5th in the A-10 in preseason voting
-- Senior Brittani Shells leads the Spider scoring attack at 19.6 per game and is second in rebounding at 3.9 per outing
-- Shells is second on the all-time scoring list at Richmond with 1,894 points
-- Senior Crystal Goring is nearly averaging a double-double at 10 points and 9.1 rebounds per game
-- The Spiders rallied from 21 down at previously unbeaten Duquesne on Jan. 19 for a 72-58 win
-- Head coach Michael Shafer is two victories shy of his 100th career win

St. Bonaventure vs. Richmond
Series Quick Facts
Overall: Richmond Leads, 8-4
At St. Bonaventure: Richmond Leads, 3-2
At Richmond: Richmond Leads, 3-1
At Neutral Site: Richmond Leads, 2-1
Most St. Bonaventure Points: 95 (Feb. 17, 2002: 104-95)
Most Richmond Points: 104 (Feb. 17, 2002: 104-95)
Fewest St. Bonaventure Points: 43 (Mar. 6, 2003: 58-43)
Fewest Richmond Points: 45 (Feb. 17, 2010: 58-45)
Largest St. Bonaventure Margin: 13 (Feb. 17, 2010: 58-45)
Largest Richmond Margin: 23 (Jan. 12, 2003: 72-49)

University of Richmond women's basketball head coach Michael Shafer enters his sixth season with the Spiders.

Shafer led Richmond to its second consecutive 20-win season and the program's fifth bid to the WNIT in 2009-10.

In 2008-09, Shafer posted the most successful season in his tenure, after helping guide the Spiders to a 24-10 record, a runner-up appearance in the 2009 Atlantic 10 Tournament and school's fourth bid to the WNIT. The 24-10 record marked the most wins since the 1988-89 season and third best overall record in program history.

Shafer has led Richmond to a 84-74 record in his first five seasons with the Spiders, including two back-to-back year sweeps over in-state rival, George Washington.

Prior to his time at Richmond, Shafer spent 11 years as an assistant coach at the University of Georgia, serving his last two seasons as the associate head coach. He helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to 11-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and four Southeastern Conference championships, three regular-season titles and one tournament title. During his tenure, Georgia posted a 273-85 (.762) record and advanced to three NCAA Final Fours, appearing in the 1996 championship game.

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.

Seeing Double And Triple
After having her streak of double-figure scoring games snapped at five against Massachusetts, junior Jessica Jenkins responded with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, versus Dayton Wednesday night. Her five 3's mark the seventh time already this year the Ohio native has hit exactly five 3's in a game. Those long-range shots have also helped her move up the all-time program 3-point list, where she currently sits in fourth with 195. With three 3-pointers today, Jenkins will move into sole possession of third place.

Van Tatenhove En Fuego
After ending the non-conference slate against West Virginia and Kent State with six- and four-point performances, respectively, Megan Van Tatenhove has exploded in A-10 play. She has scored in double-figure points in every conference game, increasing her points per game average from 13.2 prior to A-10 play to its current 15.7 level. Furthermore, Van Tatenhove is averaging 20.4 points per game in conference play.

She Can Be Offensive
Sophomore Alaina Walker will almost always guard the opposing team's best offensive player as she anchors the A-10's best defense, but the past two games she's been proving she can get the job done at the offensive end as well. Against Massachusetts last Saturday she finished with 11 points, her first conference game in double-figure points. She then followed that total up with a 10-point effort opposite Dayton on Wednesday. Her back-to-back double-figure outings represent the first time in her career she has done that.

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 11th in the nation in free throw shooting (76.3 percent), 12th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (37.8), 21st in the nation in scoring defense (54.5 points per game) and 6th in the nation in turnovers per game (13.8).

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 13.8 times per contest, good for 6th 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 11-3 when it has fewer.

Next Up
St. Bonaventure returns home for back-to-back matchups against two of the A-10's best in Temple and Duquesne. The Bonnies face the Owls, currently tied for first with No. 7 Xavier, on Wednesday, before a Homecoming battle with 6-1 and third-place Duquesne on Saturday.

For more game notes, click here.