SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Graduate students Laycee Drake and Aaliyah Parker paced the St. Bonaventure University women's basketball team to a 66-57 victory on the road at Le Moyne Saturday afternoon.
Saturday's win over the Dolphins marked Bonnies head coach Jim Crowley's 400th career win as a head coach, including 276 with the Bonnies.
Drake finished the game with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Parker chipped in 20 points and eight rebounds for the Brown and White.
The Bonnies were able to jump out to an early 16-7 lead thanks to six quick points from Barr-Buday off the bench.
The Dolphins, however, ended the first on a 6-0 run to cut their deficit down to three, 16-13.
Parker scored five straight points coming out of the quarter break to push the Bonnies lead to 21-13, but Le Moyne answered with a 5-0 spurt to halt Bona's momentum.
The two sides traded scores over the final 5:38 of the first half as the Bonnies took a 35-33 lead into the break.
The Dolphins (1-7) battled back in the third quarter to tie the game at 46-46 with 2:21 showing on the clock.
On the next Bonnies possession, Brillana Boyd was left open in the paint for an easy score, putting the Bonnies back on top.
Le Moyne tied the game once again on a pair of free throws before Parker gave the Bonnies a three-point lead at the end of the third with an and-one.
In the fourth, the hosts cut the Bonnies lead to one after a Sierra Linnin 3-pointer.
That is as close as the Dolphins would get.
Six straight points from Drake gave the Bonnies a 58-55 lead with 3:30 remaining in the game.
Drake struck again with 2:21 on the clock, pushing the Bonnies advantage to 62-55.
The Dolphins were forced to foul as the Bonnies iced the game at the free throw line.
GAME NOTES
- The Bonnies finished the game shooting 28-for-63 (44.4 percent) from the floor and held Le Moyne to 21-for-51 (41.2 percent) from the field.
- Bona's held the lead over the Dolphins for 38:46.
- The Bonnies outrebounded the Dolphins, 35-32.
- Drake and Parker are the first Bonnies to score 20 or more points in one game since Asianae Johnson and Maddie Dziezgowski scored 20 or more points each against Richmond Feb. 5, 2022.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JIM CROWLEY
"Credit to Le Moyne, they really executed the game plan, and we couldn't separate but was really proud of our group in the fourth quarter. We defended. We had some trouble with our fourth quarter defense the other day, so it was good to see us correct some things. It's tough to win on the road and we'll take it. We get a few days off here and then get ready for Mercyhurst."
UP NEXT
The Bonnies are back on the road Friday, Dec. 12 when they travel to take on Mercyhurst. Tipoff is slated for 6:00 p.m.
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