ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Three players finished in double figures to lead the St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team to a 76-68 victory over Little Three rival Niagara Tuesday evening at the Reilly Center.
Redshirt senior Dani Haskell led all scorers with 18 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double. Freshman Zoe Shaw added a career-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block while redshirt senior Nadechka Laccen registered 13 points and seven rebounds for the hosts.
Niagara opened the second half with a three that pushed its first half lead to 10.
The Bonnies (4-6), however, used a 7-0 spurt to claw their way back within three early in the third.
Six straight free throws for the Brown and White gave the hosts their first lead since the first quarter, 43-42, with under five minutes reaming in the quarter.
A Jade Rutledge 3-pointer with 2:54 left in the third gave Niagara a 49-45 edge before the Bonnies used a 10-0 run to retake the lead, 55-49, and never trailed again.
The Purple Eagles (1-7) tied the game, 64-64, with 4:32 to play, but Haskell responded with a basket on the following possession to give the Bonnies back their lead.
Niagara pulled back within two, 70-68, with 1:14 on the clock.
That is as close as the Purple Eagles would get as they were forced to foul late as Haskell, Shaw and Lena Walz closed out the game at the free throw line.
The two teams traded baskets in the first quarter as Niagara was able to grab an early 14-11 lead after one.
In the second, the Purple Eagles used a 9-0 run to lead by as many as 15 in the quarter and took a 37-30 lead into halftime.
Caliana Fenceroy and Marlie Dickerson had 15 points each to pace Niagara.
GAME NOTES
- With Tuesday's win, the Bonnies completed a sweep of Little Three rivals Canisius and Niagara this season. The Bonnies defeated Canisius, 66-63, Nov. 19 in Buffalo.
- Also with the win, Dani Haskell has now earned a victory over every Big 4 school, including the Bonnies.
- The Bonnies finished the night shooting 43.4 percent (23-for-53) from the field and held Niagara to 33.8 percent (25-for-74) from the floor.
- Bona's dominated the glass, outrebounding the Purple Eagles, 50-33. Seven different players grabbed four or more rebounds – Haskell (9), Laccen (7), Gabby Robinson Forde (7), Hannah Richardson (7), Mackenzie Pettinelli (6), Shaw (5) and Lena Walz (4).
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JIM CROWLEY
"Really proud of our group. We said it was going to be a fight and that you have to just keep going. In the first half, particularly in the second quarter, we were fouling a lot, making some bad discipline decisions and that gave them a lot of time to make free throws and rest."
"In the second half, we totally flipped that. Instead of dribbling sideways, we started attacking the basket. We had multiple people help with the press. Zoe did a great job. Nadechka did a great job. Everybody was helpful with it. The aggressiveness Hannah Richardson played with in the third quarter really helped as well."
UP NEXT
The Bonnies wrap up non-conference play Saturday, Dec. 21 on the road at Robert Morris. Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.
------
For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on X @GoBonnies and get women's basketball updates @BonniesWBB. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies. Bonnies Women's Basketball can be found on Instagram @bonnies_wbb.
