RICHMOND, Va. – The St. Bonaventure women's lacrosse team earned an 18-9 win at VCU Saturday and is out to their best Atlantic 10 Conference start (4-1) since 2005 when the Bonnies went 5-0 to begin league play.
 
Brooke Piper tied the program record for goals in a game with eight on Saturday, matching performances from Tracy Domm vs. Le Moyne in 2002 and Katelyn Fass vs. Niagara in 2006. Piper recorded the 11^th nine-point game in program history in the win. Bona's record for single-game points is 10, done thrice before, most recently by Destinee Johnson in 2019.
 
Piper added to her excellent stat line with nine draw controls, one caused turnover, and two groundballs.
 
The Bonnies (8-4, 4-1 A-10) and the Rams traded goals in the opening stanza, but eight unanswered from the Brown and White allowed them to pull out to a commanding 12-3 lead with 4:39 remaining in the first half and they would never look back.
 
VCU (5-7, 3-3 A-10) went up 2-1 in the early going, but the Bonnies took their first lead of the contest with 4:24 on the clock in the first quarter courtesy of a goal from Tori Nascimento.
 
Piper completed a hat trick in the opening quarter, starting the 8-0 run for the Bonnies.
 
Nascimento, Rylee Gonzalez, Sidney Van Tassel, and Fiona McGovern combined for the first seven goals of the second quarter as Bona's went up 12-3.
 
The Rams got two back heading into the halftime break, but Bona's seven goal lead proved too much to overcome.
 
Coming out of the break, VCU outscored the Bonnies 3-1 in the third quarter and cut the deficit to 13-9 with 12:32 remaining in the game. The Bonnies stifled any comeback attempts from the Rams as Piper netted her seventh and eighth goals of the game before Gonzalez put the game on ice with 5:56 on the clock, extending the SBU advantage back to seven.
 
McGovern capped off the fourth quarter with two more goals to bring the team total to 18 and record her seventh game of the year with five or more points.
 
Sophomore Katelyn Hicks earned her eighth career win in goal, tying for seventh all-time in program history with Karly Kocis, '13.
 
Freshman Lauren Draszkiewicz made her first collegiate appearance, relieving Hicks in cage for the final five minutes of play.
 
Kate Hennessey helped Bona's to their sixth game holding opponents under 10 goals as she recorded two caused turnovers and picked up four groundballs.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH LEIGHANN STAUFFER
"At this point in the season, I'm proud of the mindset this team is in. They are adjusting and learning throughout each game and they are only getting better. It's a proud moment when they talk about things that went well or make adjustments on their own. They are truly a family out there and it's a beautiful thing to watch."

UP NEXT 
The Bonnies return home to the Marra Athletics Complex Saturday, April 6 as they host Davidson. Bona's will honor their senior class prior to the 12:00 p.m. start time. 

------

For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on X @GoBonnies and get women's lacrosse updates @BonniesWLAX. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies. Bonnies women's lacrosse can be found on Instagram @bonnieswlax.