ST. BONAVENTURE (7-3, 0-0 A-10) at ETSU (1-11, 0-0 SOCON)
Thursday, Dec. 23 – 12:00 p.m.
Johnson City, Tenn. – Brooks Gym
TV: ESPN+

The St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team wraps up its non-conference schedule with a trip to East Tennessee State just before the holidays Thursday, Dec. 23. Tip is slated for 12:00 p.m. Thursday's matchup will be the first meeting all-time between the Bonnies and the Buccaneers.

OPENING TIP

·        The Bonnies take the court for the first time in 11 days since their contest against Marshall back on Dec. 12, winning 50-47 after coming back from 14 points down. The Bonnies improved to 7-3 on the season and 5-2 at home in 2021. The last time the Bonnies rallied from a 14-point deficit was Feb. 6, 2020 when they outscored George Washington 22-6 in the fourth quarter to earn a 59-55 victory.

·        Asianae Johnson scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half to lead the Bonnies comeback while Tori Harris also chipped in 12 points for the Brown and White.

·        The Bonnies shot a season-best 85.7 percent (12-for-14) from the free throw line against Marshall.

·        Lexie Sinclair earned the first start of her young career against the Thundering Herd, playing 25 minutes.

BONNIES BITS

·        The Bonnies enter the week as still one of the top defending teams in the Atlantic 10. Bona's currently ranks second in the A-10 in field goal percentage defense (35.5%) and three-point percentage defense (27.5%). Last season through the first 10 games, the Bonnies were allowing opponents to shoot 33.5 percent from distance, cutting six percent off that number this year.

·        Through 10 games this season, the Bonnies are third in the Atlantic 10, allowing just 55.5 points per game compared to the 64.7 points per contest they allowed through the first 10 contests last year, a 9.2 point differential.

·        Interior defense has also been an area of improvement for the Brown and White, averaging 1.5 blocks per game more than they did at last season's start. The Bonnies already have 43 blocks this season after rejecting just 55 shots in 21 games last season. Contributing to the interior defense this season is junior forward I'yanna Lops who currently sits third in the A-10 with 18 blocks and is fourth in blocks per game, rejecting 1.8 shots per contest.

·        Senior guard Asianae Johnson is among the top scorers in the conference, leading the Bonnies and ranking fourth in the A-10 at 15.9 points per game. Johnson also ranks seventh in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting at a 46.2 percent clip. Johnson is currently eighth in assists per game (3.5) and free throw percentage (74.5).

·        Also ranking in the top 10 at the charity stripe for the Atlantic 10 is redshirt senior Tori Harris, ranking seventh with a 78.1 percent free throw percentage.

ETSU NOTES

·        East Tennessee State enters Thursday's contest with a record of 1-11 and are currently on a nine-game losing skid following a 112-58 loss against No. 7 Tennessee Monday evening. The Buccaneers lone win on the season came at home Nov. 14 against Cornell, 66-54.

·        The Buccaneers are coached by Simon Harris who is in his first year at the helm of the women's basketball program. Prior to ETSU, Harris served as an assistant coach at Ohio State during the 2020-21 season and was also an assistant at N.C. State from 2018-2020. Harris is familiar with the Atlantic 10, having spent seven seasons at Dayton, three with the men's team and four with the women's squad.

·        ETSU was picked to finish seventh in the Southern Conference coaches preseason poll as well as the SoCon media preseason poll, receiving one first place vote from the media voters.

·        Jaila Roberts leads the Buccaneers in scoring, averaging 11.9 points per contest while shooting nearly 40 percent from the floor. Jamir Huston leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 5.1 rebounds per game. The Buccaneers are currently averaging 55.1 points per contest and are shooting 33.5 percent.

ATLANTIC 10 PLAY ON THE HORIZON

·        With non-conference play almost in the rearview mirror, the Bonnies will soon shift their focus to their Atlantic 10 slate.

·        St. Bonaventure begins the New Year against Saint Joseph's at the Reilly Center before heading out on the road for matchups against Dayton (Jan. 4) and Duquesne (Jan. 8).

·        Other Atlantic 10 home games for the Bonnies this season include Davidson (Jan. 12), George Washington (Jan. 15), La Salle (Jan. 26), Richmond (Feb. 5), UMass (Feb. 9), Duquesne (Feb. 20) and George Mason (Feb. 26).

·        The Bonnies will travel to take on Saint Louis (Jan. 19), George Mason (Jan. 23, CBSSN), Fordham (Jan. 29), George Washington (Feb. 12), VCU (Feb. 15) and Rhode Island (Feb. 23) during the conference slate.

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