AMHERST, Mass. – The St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team dropped its conference opener to Atlantic 10 preseason favorite UMass, 74-51, Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center.
Claire Cody led the Bonnies with 12 points, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Tianna Johnson registered seven points, six rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes after missing the last two games due to injury.
Coming out of halftime, the Minutewomen were able to open up a 17-point lead, 44-27.
The Bonnies responded with an 11-0 run to pull back within six, 44-38, with 2:30 remaining in the third period.
UMass closed the third with another 8-0 scoring run, extending its lead to 52-38.
The hosts carried their double digit lead into the fourth and pulled away for good, earning the win.
The Minutewomen (11-3, 1-0 A-10) jumped out to an early 8-0 advantage, but the Bonnies were able to respond with an 8-0 break of their own to tie things early.
Oppenheimer's made 3-pointer with time winding down in the first gave the Bonnies (3-13, 0-1 A-10) a 17-14 lead after the first 10 minutes.
UMass, however, opened the second period on an 11-0 spurt to pull away, 25-17. The hosts lead grew to as many as 11 in the first half, taking a 32-21 edge into the locker room at halftime.
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