Richmond (14-3, 2-1) @ rv St. Bonaventure (16-2, 3-0)
Wednesday, Jan. 18 | 7 PM | Reilly Center (5,480)
Game Notes: St. Bonaventure | Richmond | Atlantic 10
Follow & Interact: @Go_Bonnies | #Bonnies
St. Bonaventure – Receiving Votes in the Associated Press Poll for a record fourth time this week – returns to action riding a five-game winning streak as it hosts 14-3 Richmond in a battle of teams with the two best records in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Bonnies enter the contest against the Spiders having not trailed in game for 105 minutes, dating back to an 18-17 deficit late in the first half against Duquesne before they closed that stanza on a 10-0 run. Against Temple last Wednesday, the Owls tied the game at 2-2, but the Bonnies led for the remainder of the night. Versus Saint Louis on Saturday, SBU jumped out to a 12-0 start and led for the duration of the contest.
St. Bonaventure and Richmond are two of just three A-10 schools with positive double-figure scoring margins (+10.9; +10.8, respectively). Additionally, both clubs lead the A-10 in free-throw shooting as the Spiders connect from the line at 82.2 percent, while the Bonnies shoot it at a 77.5-percent clip. Those percentages also rank second and 14th, respectively, in the entire nation.
Richmond and SBU are also at the top of the league as far as 3-point shooting percentage goes, as the Spiders are first at 40.2 percent and the Bonnies are second at 38.3 percent. Finally, Richmond enters with the best field-goal percentage (.430) in the entire conference, while Bonaventure leads the A-10 in field-goal percentage defense (.359).
The 16-2 start for Bona's is the best in program history by a wide margin as the previous record through 18 games was 13-5, set by the 2008-09 and 2009-10 squads. Only three schools in the entire nation – No. 1 Baylor (17-0), No. 2 Notre Dame (17-1) and No. 10/12 Ohio State (17-1) – have more wins than St. Bonaventure.
Since returning to the starting lineup for the conference opener against Duquesne, senior Megan Van Tatenhove has displayed exactly why she landed on the A-10 Preseason First Team list. Over the last three games, she's averaged 15.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, including her sixth career double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds) against the Dukes. The 47 points and 23 rebounds over the last three contests are the most during any three-game stretch of her season.
Jessica Jenkins has hit 37 of her 39 free-throw attempts this year (94.9 percent), and more than half of those makes and attempts have come over the last four games. During that stretch, she's knocked down 19-of-20 (95 percent), and that's the second-most free throws the senior has made over a four-game stretch in her career. During the final four regular-season games of last year, Jenkins hit 22-of-24 attempts (91.6 percent). For her career, she's currently second on the program's all-time free-throw percentage list at .853 (157-184).
In its win over Saint Louis on Saturday, the Brown and White turned the ball over a season-low-tying six times, including a season-low two times in the first half. The Bonnies rank second in the entire country at taking care of the ball as they give it away just 12.2 times per game.
Scouting Richmond
~ The Spiders were picked to finish 8th in the A-10 in preseason voting, but enter 2-1 in the league with their only loss coming on a last-second shot against Temple
~ Abby Oliver leads the entire nation in free-throw shooting at 94 percent (56-60), while Rachael Bilney ranks sixth in the country in 3-point field-goal percentage at 45.6 percent (36-79)
~ Bilney hit a school-record eight 3-pointers in Richmond's 74-57 win over George Washington on Jan. 11
~ Oliver is the lone senior on the squad that is the youngest in the conference and one of the youngest in the nation
~ Richmond has made three straight WNIT appearances
RPI Report: #46
~ Bonaventure has the best road record in the entire nation at 7-0; it is one of only three teams unbeaten on the road (No. 1 Baylor; No. 12/11 Green Bay - both undefeated overall)
~ 12 of St. Bonaventure's opponents are currently in the top-100 of the RPI, including 10 in the top-80
~ The 6-2 mark against top-100 teams is the best record and represents the most wins among A-10 schools; Richmond, St. Joe's and Temple all have four wins each vs. top-100 teams
~ In its only two losses (Delaware, #8 RPI; Villanova, #19 RPI), Bonaventure was missing a starter due to injury - Horton (7.7 ppg; 5.5 rpg) against Delaware and A-10 First Team Preseason pick Van Tatenhove (12.1 ppg; 5.9 rpg) against Villanova
Next Up
The Bonnies will head South as they face Charlotte on Saturday evening at 7. The 49ers play La Salle on Wednesday in a battle of the only other two teams in the A-10 with 3-0 records. Charlotte was picked to finish 4th in the league in preseason voting, and will represent the third opponent of the year already for the Bonnies which was picked to finish ahead of them in the A-10.
