CLEVELAND – The St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team scored an 87-55 win over Valparaiso Saturday afternoon in the finale of the CSU Invitational.

Laycee Drake paced the Bonnies with 17 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. Brianna Barr-Buday scored a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in 11 minutes off the bench. Mackenzie Pettinelli, Ivona Djikanovic, and Brillana Boyd chipped in nine points apiece.

The Beacons (0-8) led the Bonnies early on, 8-7, heading to the first media timeout.

The Bonnies (7-2) came to life following the timeout, ending the first half on a 19-0 run and holding Valparaiso scoreless for the final 5:40 to take a 26-10 lead.

Barr-Buday provided the spark the Bonnies were looking for early, scoring 12 first quarter points on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor.

Valpo was able to cut its deficit down to 10 on a Fiona Connolly jump shot with 4:01 remaining in the first half, 35-25.

A quick 6-0 spurt the Bonnies, however, pushed the Brown and White's lead back to 16, 41-25.

The Beacons ended the first half with a 5-0 run to cut the Bonnies lead to 11, 41-30, at the break.

Coming out of halftime, the Beacons cut the lead down to six on an Autumn Dibb layup.

The Bonnies answered with a 17-2 run to close the third quarter to take a commanding 63-42 lead over Valpo.

Bona's defense held strong in the fourth as the lead grew to as many as 32 in the fourth quarter en route to the victory.

GAME NOTES

• The Bonnies finished the game shooting 36-for-68 (52.9 percent) from the floor and held Valparaiso to 23-for-64 (35.9 percent) from the field.
• Bona's won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Beacons, 41-36.
• The Brown and White bench dominated, scoring 50 points to Valpo's 23 bench points.
• 12 different players registered points in Saturday's win.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JIM CROWLEY
"I thought this week was really good for us. We played different opponents who had a good chance to scout us, so we were able to find out a lot of things about ourselves that I think will help us prepare for Atlantic 10 play. Just proud of this group's response after losing the first game in a tough way. And a lot of individuals responded well and I think that bodes very well for us as we move forward."

UP NEXT
The Bonnies kick off Atlantic 10 play Wednesday, Dec. 3 on the road at Saint Louis. Tipoff is slated for 8:00 p.m. ET.

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