ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – A strong second half and three career performances propelled the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team to a 2-0 start to the season following a 73-64 victory over visiting Mercyhurst Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.
Bona's trio of Elyse MacDonough (18 points), Kyla Hayes (16) and Brillana Boyd (16) all notched new collegiate career highs to power the offensive attack.
Bonaventure scored the game's first points, but Mercyhurst responded with a 12-2 run and controlled much of the opening period.
The Bonnies found a spark, however, with nine quick points from MacDonough as part of a 10-2 run to pull ahead by a point after 10 minutes.
The second quarter was another back-and-forth stanza, leaving the teams tied at halftime, 29-all.
The Bonnies gained separation for the first time as they embarked on a 9-0 sprint for their largest lead of the game, 40-33, with 5:42 remaining in the third behind eight points during the run by Hayes.
Wednesday's third quarter belonged to the Bonnies.
The home side shot over 69 percent (9-13) from the floor during the period, outscoring Mercyhurst by a 25-13 margin.
By then, Bona's lead stood at a dozen.
Mallory Heise started the fourth with a putback bucket to push the advantage to 14.
Mercyhurst (1-3) had one last rally remaining, pulling to within 68-62 with 1:41 to play.
A Bonnies free throw pushed the lead back to seven before a Lakers jumper closed the margin to 69-64 with 48 ticks left.
Mackenzie Pettinelli made two free throws on the other end and Mercyhurst never gained further traction.
Bona shot over 56 percent for the game to Mercyhurst's 39 percent from the floor, including just 7-20 during the fourth quarter. SBU also handed out 19 assists on 26 made field goals, led by Pettinelli's five.
Lena Walz led Mercyhurst with 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
GAME NOTES
- Hayes posted double-figure scoring for the first time in her college career. She ranks third all time among all Western New York players for her high school point total (over 2,600 points at Cardinal O'Hara in Buffalo).
- MacDonough recorded a new career-high in scoring for the second consecutive game. She tallied 15 points last week vs. D'Youville.
- Boyd has scored in double figures in back-to-back games to begin the year. On Wednesday, she went 7-9 from the floor to eclipse her previous best of 15 points at Binghamton last year.
- Ivona Djakanovic added eight points for the Bonnies in a starting role.
- Kylie Buckley and Ella Trinkaus were both a team best +13 off the bench. Trinkaus provided five rebounds and three assists.
- Wednesday's game was a matchup of two postseason teams from a season ago. Both teams reached the postseason WNIT. Mercyhurst was selected as the preseason runner-up in the NEC.Â
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JIM CROWLEY
"In the second quarter, we raised our level defensively but couldn't get some finishes and turned the ball over too much. We continued that defense in the third quarter, but took care of the ball. That gave us a lot more scoring opportunities and when we get shots off, we're pretty good."
"Kyla and Brillana did a really good job off Mercyhurst's zone of finding each other and playing off one another. We know Kyla can score and I think she was putting a little too much pressure on herself in the first game and even the first half today. She saw one go in and just had a really big third quarter which helped us build the lead."
"Elyse is very consistent with her effort. The three she hit at the top of the key was a really big, confident shot for her. She's scoring in different ways. We know she can shoot it, but 18 points on eight shots is a pretty efficient night."
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure remains at home to host Binghamton on Saturday afternoon. Tip time is slated for 1:30 p.m. in the Reilly Center as the first half of a Bonnies Basketball doubleheader with the Bona's men's team to follow.
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