ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team erased a 14-point second half deficit, defeating Saint Louis, 68-66, Wednesday evening at the Reilly Center.
Dani Haskell led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line. Her biggest free throws of the night came with three seconds left on the clock, making both and giving the Bonnies their first lead of the night.
Caitlin Frost finished with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds while Zoe Shaw added 17 points, playing all 40 minutes of Wednesday's contest.
Kennedy Calhoun gave the Billikens a 14-point lead following her basket with 4:31 showing on the clock in the third quarter.
Haskell got her first 3-pointer of the game to fall on the next possession, cutting the Bonnies (5-10, 1-3 A-10) deficit back to 11, 47-36.
A few possessions later, Frost was able to cut the Saint Louis (6-11, 0-4 A-10) lead to single digits, 49-40, and then making a pair of free throws to make it a six-point game heading into the final quarter.
Marcavia Shavers basket with 7:29 on the clock gave the visitors a 10-point advantage.
Frost, however, sparked the Bonnies with a 6-0 run of her own to cut the Billikens lead down to four, 59-55.
The two teams traded baskets as Tamar voor de Poort kept it at a four-point deficit with 2:16 to play.
Haskell knocked down her third three of the game before Shaw clutched up with a three of her own, tying the game at 66-66 with 34 seconds left.
With three seconds left and the game tied, Haskell was fouled driving to the basket, sending her to the line.
The redshirt senior made both chances, giving the Bonnies their first lead of the night.
Coming out of a timeout, the Billikens had a shot to tie the game as time expired, but it fell short as the Bonnies held on for the victory.
The Bonnies trailed the Billikens, 9-8, early in the first after three straight free throws for the hosts.
The Billikens, however, used an 11-2 run over the final 3:50 of the first to take a 20-10 lead after one.
It was more of the same in the second quarter as the Billikens took a 39-29 lead into halftime.
GAME NOTES
- The Bonnies finished the night shooting 41.8 percent (23-for-55) from the floor and held Saint Louis to a 38.4 percent (28-for-73) shooting percentage.
- Zoe Shaw has now registered double figures in six straight games and is averaging 14.5 points per game during that span.
- Wednesday marked the fourth comeback win for the Bonnies this season. The Bonnies erased second half deficits against Canisius (Nov. 19), Cornell (Dec. 5) and Niagara (Dec. 17).
- Bona's win over the Billikens snaps a four-game losing streak overall and snaps a streak of nine consecutive losses against Saint Louis.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JIM CROWLEY
"It was a bad first half. Bad execution. Bad coaching. I thought we could tighten a few things up, particularly our energy. I thought we were playing a little unsure and once we got to a good place there, we just kept chipping away."
"We got a couple of big stops and obviously some big shots. We took care of the ball in the second half so we were able to get those shots. We talking a lot about just keep fighting so I am really proud of this group to have that kind of resilience."
UP NEXT
The Bonnies remain at home to host Massachusetts Sunday, Jan. 12. Tipoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. and will be aired live on YES Network.
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