ST. BONAVENTURE vs. DAVIDSON
Saturday, Jan. 20 - 2 p.m.
Reilly Center
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Complete Game Notes: St. Bonaventure | Davidson
The St. Bonaventure women's basketball team remains at home Saturday afternoon, welcoming Davidson to the Reilly Center at 2 p.m. Saturday's game will be an important contest for Atlantic 10 positioning with both teams currently tied in the league standings.
RUFF ON A ROLL: St. Bonaventure senior Mariah Ruff has been outstanding as of late. She has scored 19 or more points in five straight games including two 30-point showings - a career high 31 points Jan. 3 vs. Saint Joseph's and 30 points at La Salle last Saturday. Prior to her recent stretch, no Bonnies player had scored 30 or more points in a single game in nearly six years, but Ruff accomplished the feat twice in a 10-day span. Ruff is also the only A-10 player with multiple 30-point games this season. In conference play, no A-10 player is averaging more points per game through five contests than Ruff's 23.0 ppg. Ruff is one of three A-10 players averaging 20-plus points in conference games along with Fordham's Bre Cavanaugh (22.0 ppg) and George Mason's Nicole Cardano-Hillary (20.6 ppg). For the season, Ruff ranks second in A-10 assists (4.7 apg), fourth in 3s (49) and eighth in scoring (16.1 ppg).
MORE ON MARIAH: Wednesday's game marked the 100th consecutive start for Ruff. The Oneonta, N.Y. native first joined the starting lineup on Feb. 17, 2014 vs. UNC-Greensboro at The RC and has not been out of the starting lineup in the nearly four years since. That night set the stage for what was the come - she scored 17 points with six rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes during a Bonnies victory. Only one Atlantic 10 player - Saint Louis senior guard Jackie Kemph (117 straight starts) - has a longer consecutive start streak.
WEDNESDAY LEFTOVERS: The Bonnies posted a season-high 81 points in the victory over Rhode Island on Wednesday night and represented the largest offensive output for the team since scoring 80 in a victory over Saint Louis on Feb. 10, 2016. The Bonnies also handed out assists on 19 of 28 field goals, the most assists in a game since registering 20 in the season-opening win over Niagara.
SIX STRONG: St. Bonaventure has been playing shorthanded since conference play began, rolling with just six healthy players for the past six games due to a rash of injuries that has seen the Bonnies play without their full roster of players in every game this season. Every one of the six healthy players had key impacts on Wednesday - all six players scored nine or more points with freshman Emily Calabrese recording a career high 19 points while Ruff also finished with 19. Danielle Migliore and Arielle Harvey had 13 and 12 points respectively while Jalisha Terry and Rhianna Council scored nine apiece.
ARC ACES: St. Bonaventure has been outstanding both offensively and defensively beyond the perimeter this season. SBU now stands second in the A-10 in 3-point percentage defense at 27.3 percent, just behind George Mason (27.2 percent). The Bonnies continue to rank second in the league with 7.8 3s per game offensively, behind only Duquesne's 8.3.
40% IS KEY: St. Bonaventure has held opponents under 40 percent shooting from the floor in six of its seven wins this year.
JT THE STARTER: Sophomore Jalisha Terry has started the last seven games after coming off the bench in each of the first 12 contests of the season. The Flint, Mich. native started 25 of 29 games as the team's point guard a season ago. In the UMass victory on Jan. 6, Terry handed out a career-best eight assists. Terry also has registered double-figure scoring in three of the past five games. Terry's 25 assists during A-10 play rank seventh in conference action.
THIRD IS THE CHARM: St. Bonaventure has been at its best in the third quarter this season. At home, the Bonnies are +82 during the third quarter for the year.
BONA VS. DAVIDSON - SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday will be just the fourth meeting ever between the Bonnies and Wildcats in a series that began in 2015.
- St. Bonaventure has won the previous three meetings, all by double digits.
- The Bonnies and Wildcats will meet for the second straight year in Western New York. SBU took last year's meeting, 70-51, as four Bonnies players registered double-figure scoring.
ABOUT DAVIDSON
The Wildcats will be entering the Reilly Center on Saturday touting the same record as the Bonnies, both overall and in conference play. Davidson is coming off a 53-48 loss to George Washington. Junior Justine Lyon led the Wildcats with 13 points and is the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game. Ranking 10th in the Atlantic 10 in rebounds per game is senior Mackenzie Latt, who has hauled in over five rebounds in their last three outings. Latt led the team in rebounds per game last season (7.4) and is also a team captain. The Bonnies defeated Davidson at home in their last meeting during the 2016-17 season, 70-51. First-year head coach Gayle Coats Fulks has led the Wildcats to a ninth-place ranking among Atlantic 10 offenses (60.9 ppg) and also ninth in defense, surrendering 66.2 ppg. The Wildcats also take care of the ball, owning a +1.5 turnover margin, fourth-best in the A-10.
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