By SPENCER BATES
CLEVELAND, OH — Ahead of its third and final game at the CSU Invitational, the biggest question on the minds of the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball coaching staff was how their team would adjust.
Less than 24 hours before the Bonnies tipped off against Valparaiso, they had closed out a nailbiter of a 55-45 win over Radford. Their game against the Highlanders was highlighted by an excellent start, but overshadowing the brilliance of the first 10 minutes was how they were unable to react to the adjustments their opposition made over the remaining frames.
Bona had drained nine first-quarter buckets and just 12 over the remaining three quarters against Radford.
So, with less than a day to recuperate and prepare for its matchup with the Beacons, would it be a similar story?
Not even close.
The Bonnies, once again, were on fire from the jump, but against Valpo they managed to find a level of consistency and roared its way to a convincing 87-55 victory.
In the first quarter, Bona shot a stellar 12-of-18 (66.67%) from the field, an even better figure than it shot in its great start against Radford. It held Valpo to 4-for-16 (25%) from the floor in that time, the same percentage it kept the Highlanders to in the opening frame the day prior. So, not only did the offense improve, the defensive intensity remained for head coach Jim Crowley’s bunch.
Now that shooting percentage would eventually rise for the Beacons, but they still only shot about 36% from the floor for the game, and just 19.2% from deep. The biggest difference between Friday’s and Saturday’s game was that the Bonnies’ offense stayed red-hot. In total for the affair, they shot just under 53% from the floor, including 40% from 3-point range.
Another feather that Bona can put in its cap after this game is that its bench, which has been a big factor in the team’s now 7-2 start to the season, came up with its biggest performance yet against a Div. I opponent, netting 50 points. The best off the bench was Brianna Barr-Buday, who scored a career-high 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting and tied her career-high with four rebounds all in just 12 minutes of action.
Barr-Buday had a tournament to remember as she was extremely efficient in her time on the floor, missing just three of the 16 shots she attempted over the course of the three games at the invitational. The next three best bench scorers were Brillana Boyd, Kaylee Krysztof and Mallory Heise, who added nine, eight and six points, respectively.
Another good sign was that Laycee Drake, after a tough outing against Radford, where she shot just 1-of-11 from the field, scored 17 points, roped in eight rebounds — both team-high marks — and dished out four assists.
Elyse MacDonough had the team-high in assists against Valpo, racking up six to go along with her five points and three rebounds.
“I thought this week was really good for us,” Crowley said. “We played different opponents who had a really good chance to scout us, so we were able to find out a lot of stuff about ourselves that I think will help us prepare for A10 play. I’m just really proud of the group’s response after losing the first game in a tough way, and proud of a lot of individuals that really responded well. I think that bodes very well for us as we move forward.”
St. Bonaventure finished the CSU Invitational with a 2-1 record, its one loss coming by a narrow margin to hosts Cleveland State. But there will, yet again, be little time to relax as the team now must prepare for its first Atlantic 10 game of the season — wedged in the middle of the non-conference schedule — on the road at Saint Louis on Dec. 3 at 8 p.m.
