Box Score Box Score (PDF)
PHILADELPHIA – Saturday afternoon saw a seesaw battle between the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team and La Salle at Tom Gola Arena, but unfortunately for the Bonnies, it would be the Explorers who claimed the final swing of momentum for a 66-63 victory.
Senior Mariah Ruff posted a game-high 30 points, her fourth straight performance of 20 points or better and second 30-point effort in that span. Ruff added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
St. Bonaventure (6-12, 1-4 Atlantic 10) owned a 61-52 lead with 3:20 to play, but La Salle would close the game on a 14-2 run to improve to 6-11, 1-3.
A back-and-forth first half saw both sides make runs at taking control. Ultimately the first quarter was fought to a stalemate with La Salle holding a narrow 13-11 edge.
St. Bonaventure started the second quarter strong, pushing ahead by a bucket at 18-16 following five straight points from Rhianna Council – a trey from the wing followed by a layup in transition off a feed by Danielle Migliore.
La Salle had the final say of the first half, though, launching a 13-4 run to take a 31-25 lead to intermission.
The Explorers started the second half the way they finished the first, opening the third quarter on an 8-0 run as they extended the lead to 40-27 with 5:50 left in the period.
St. Bonaventure would immediately answer, however.
The Bonnies launched a 15-3 sprint, powered by 13 points in the quarter by Ruff, to get right back in the game. After missing her own shot from the elbow, Ruff hustled to clean up the boards herself and draw a foul for a traditional three-point play, cutting the La Salle lead to just 43-42.
La Salle took a four-point edge to the final quarter, but the Bonnies roared in front as the fourth opened.
Danielle Migliore started the final quarter with a straight away 3-pointer to close within a point, opening an impressive 18-5 run over the first 6:11 of the fourth quarter. Bona opened up a nine-point edge following a layup from Ruff, but that would be the end of the Bona momentum.
The trio of Adreana Miller, Amy Griffin and Shaquana Edwards allowed the Explorers to come racing back as Miller tied the game at 61-61 with her layup at the 1:31 mark.
Bona's Jalisha Terry responded with a layup of her own on the next trip down the floor as the Brown and White went ahead again with 1:16 remaining. On La Salle's next possession, though, Edwards netted a three, putting the Explorers ahead for good.
Four La Salle players reached double-figure scoring led by Edwards' 17 points. Adreana Miller added 15 points while Griffin and Shalina Miller each had 13.
Next up, the Bonnies return home for back-to-back contests at the Reilly Center. First, St. Bonaventure plays host to Rhode Island at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night before welcoming Davidson on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
- Ruff became the 13th player in program history to surpass 1,200 career points, finishing the day with 1,221 points. She was just one off her career high of 31 points set only 10 days ago vs. Saint Joseph's.
- La Salle owned a 41-33 advantage on the boards including 16 offensive rebounds.
- Bona forced 17 turnovers and scored 18 points off those La Salle miscues.
- Terry has scored in double figures in three of the past four games.
- La Salle shot 44.8 percent (26-for-58) for the game while Bona was at 39 percent (23-59).
- Bona continued a recent trend of taking care of the ball, owning a +5 turnover margin as La Salle had 17 turnovers to Bona's 12. SBU had 18 points off Explorers turnovers.
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