By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team has flipped the script.
However, not necessarily in its own favor.
For the grand majority of the season thus far, the Bonnies have leaned on their defense. Their offensive numbers weren’t spectacular, but when other teams faced them it became a slog and a race to score 60 points — exactly the way head coach Jim Crowley likes the game played.
But somewhere along the way that defensive emphasis was lost.
Over their last two games, which went down as losses to La Salle and Dayton, respectively, they have conceded 83 and 75 points. In comparison, over the five games prior, they had allowed an average of just 55 points.
Consistency is something Crowley has been seeking in terms of production from all of his players recently. But now, in light of these recent defensive lapses, he is simply looking for consistency in following through on the identity they had established for most of the year.
“We had a great run of defense and not great offense, and now we have a pretty good run of offense and not great defense,” Crowley said. “We’ve established some things as far as how hard we play and how we want to play, but consistency is that next phase. It’s the difference in three or four games right now, and that’s a huge difference when you look at the standings. And while time’s running out, we still feel we have time (to get back on track). It’s not a lack of effort, it’s not a lack of people making good decisions. It’s just about finding the consistency in the basic details. … When you’re playing as many tight games as we are, those are the things that make the difference.”
Defensive consistency is at the top of the priority list for Crowley, but that does not mean he necessarily wants his team to give up the way they’ve been playing offense as of late. All season he has pushed his team to be more confident in attack, to not allow an opposing defense to shake them from executing. Lately, they’ve been able to do that, with Laycee Drake’s 29-point performance in their 75-71 loss to Dayton last time out standing as the symbol of what they are capable of.
“I just thought we got the ball moving a little bit better, and she got to her spots aggressively, rather than tentatively,” Crowley said. “I thought her teammates set her up well with some screens and some passes and that freed up some really good looks from a lot of other people. I think that her doing that allowed us to, obviously, be more effective offensively. And while we certainly can’t expect that kind of scoring production nightly, we certainly can plan on her being that aggressive.”
Not being shaken will once again be the message from Crowley as his side prepares to take on one of the hottest teams in the Atlantic 10 in Loyola Chicago.
The Ramblers have a 9-11 record this season, but enter the affair against the Bonnies on the back of three consecutive wins and five wins in their last six games. Crowley gave his flowers to Loyola head coach Allison Guth, noting that she has her players fully embracing their identity as of late.
“They’re playing with a ton of confidence,” Crowley said. “They know who they are. They know where the ball can go and should go, and I just think Allison is doing an amazing job. Obviously there’s plenty (of the season left) to go, but right now, there’s nobody in our league coaching their team better.”
The Ramblers don’t necessarily have any major A10-best statistics on their side. But to see where they do a good amount of their damage to opponents, Crowley noted you have to look beyond the numbers. Loyola Chicago is forcing the fourth most turnovers per game of any team in conference play and the points they get as a result of those turnovers have lifted them to victory, or near victory, on several occasions.
“They’re really good at turning steals into points,” Crowley said. “The other thing they do is they make you guard unique situations. They have a forward who runs the point and they have some guards who go around the basket. Their movement is exceptional, and especially once they get rid of the ball, they attack the basket really well. Once they give it up, they get back out. The number of times that the person who first passed it gets it back and attacks again in possessions is really high. It is really hard to guard, and they’re very good at it. … So, I’m not sure the numbers really matter when you play that hard and you play together the way they are.”
Loyola Chicago is led by a number of guards, Alex-Anne Bessette — who Crowley emphatically described as “a baller” — and Alexa Kinas being the two that record the most points per game at 12.4 and 10.1 per game apiece. But amidst its guard-heavy rotation is forward Brooklyn Vaughn, who averages 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Her level of physicality, even against defenders who have size on her makes her a significant problem.
“I’m not sure there’s many people in the league that play as hard as her,” Crowley said. “I mean, she just goes after every rebound. Her pivot’s great around the basket. She’s fearless. She’s often going against bigger people, and she’s going right at them. (Loyola Chicago) just has an attack mentality that, other than tomorrow, is enjoyable to watch.”
St. Bonaventure will need to see the return of its staunch defense if it is going to put a stop to Loyola Chicago’s positive run of form on Jan. 31 at 3 p.m.
