By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team’s losing streak extended to five games at the hands of Loyola Chicago on Dec. 31.
But it is not just that they have lost these games that has hurt the most, it is how they have lost them.
Four of the fives games amidst the skid have come right at the very end, being decided by only a handful of possessions. This is a stark contrast to how the Bonnies started the year: as a team that was prone to making the crucial plays at the end to pull out victories.
Bona head coach Jim Crowley acknowledged that while a losing streak is impossible to not have some sort of effect on a team, the knowledge that it is just a matter of possessions that separates them from their opponents has kept the confidence intact.
“I think it’s hard to not be phased by it,” Crowley said. “Obviously losing takes a toll, and you gotta really fight through the confidence that gets hit with that. Early in the year we had these close games, and we were making the plays in the last three minutes. Right now, specifically defensively, we’re not getting the stops. We need to get into some tempo. We’re having some defensive breakdowns at really bad moments. And we also can do a better job of being in better positions. We seem to have to come back at times to even it up. We wouldn’t be human if it wasn’t taking a toll, but I think saying that, that we understand what’s in front of us, and what we’ve done, and I think we understand how to correct it.”
Four of the five consecutive losses the Bonnies have suffered have been by single digits. In three of those of the five, they have either been tied or held a lead in the fourth quarter. So, in the eyes of Crowley it really isn’t a lack of offense that has kept them from wins, it has been mistakes on the defensive end in critical moments.
“We have a chance to kind of stop them, and we’re having two or three plays in a row that puts us in a bad situation,” Crowley said. “It’s been different each game. Against Dayton, I think we utilized a lot of energy to come back, and then had a breakdown defensively. That’s the thing I would say is consistent. When we need a stop we’re not getting one, and we are in control of that. Maybe shots don’t fall at the end, that happens, but we’re a lot better team when we play offense after misses.”
Still, there have been some positive developments over the course of the losing streak. Specifically, on the individual level.
Olivia DiFranco, who started to see significant minutes at Fordham, has continuously made the most of her time on the floor. And with injuries to a couple key pieces in the rotation, DiFranco has stepped up in a big way to fill those gaps.
“She’s just getting comfortable again,” Crowley said. “This is a kid who really didn’t play basketball for two years, had two different college systems in those two years, and is figuring that out. When she just lets herself go and doesn’t overthink, she really has a great instinct. She’s a good cutter, good rebounder, and honestly we need her to play better. With (Ivona Djikanovic) being out and now (Mallory Heise) being out, there’s minutes that are there, and she’s done a nice job stepping up and finding some consistency in those.”
Another individual, somewhat flying under the radar with the impact she is having, is Gabby Robinson. One of the two returners from last year’s team, Robinson has grown her defensive game. She may not be a major contributor in the score column, but particularly she has been a thorn in the side of opposition bigs all season long.
That will need to be the case yet again ahead of Bona’s next game, a home affair against Davidson.
“That’s a position we really need to find even more dependability,” Crowley said. “She’s a versatile defender, and we’ll need that tomorrow with the way Davidson plays. We can really count on her for that dependability. (She gives us) some good defense, some movement offensively, and we have a lot of confidence in her shooting the ball, and we’re continuing to work with her to show that.”
Davidson currently sits fourth in the Atlantic 10 standings with a 7-4 in conference record and are led by Charlise Dunn, who ranks eighth in the conference in scoring with 15.2 points per game, third in rebounding at 8.0 boards per game and fourth in minutes at 34.1 per game.
The Wildcats, as a team, are physical, leading the A10 in steals per game (10.36). They move the ball well with 13.7 assists per game, good for fourth-best in the conference overall, and get to their spots, making the second-most 3-pointers of any team in the conference (189, 7.9 per game).
“They play with great pace, pass the ball really well and force you to pass the ball really well,” Crowley said. “They have an elite player in Dunn who plays like an elite player every night. They are really physical. The steals they get are really physical. They get to their spots. They’re active with their hands. Once they get (on defense), they’re versatile in that they can all guard different spots, so they create some opportunities from that.”
Dunn is a force on her own, but flanking her are the likes of Katie Donovan and Kyra Bruyndoncx, two other more-than-capable scorers. Donovan scores an average of 11.5 points per game while Bruyndoncx scores 9.8 per game.
The trio is almost never off the court for Davidson, therefore Crowley is once again emphasizing a team-defense approach.
“It’s not an individual thing,” Crowley said. “If you’re going to have success against Dunn, you’ve got to really be in position and not let her get all the way to the rim. Obviously, she shoots it pretty well too, but she’s a terrific offensive rebounder. For all of (their players), it’s about how many easy shots can we limit? That hurt us at Loyola, we gave their top scorer five layups. We’ve done a pretty good job on most teams’ top scorers, we’re just giving away too many easy scores to some others. So we can’t let Dunn get easy ones. We can’t let Donovan get going from 3. … And then, we can’t give anyone else layups and free throws because we’re out of position.”
Crowley will hope that this go around his defense will be able to hold firm throughout the entire fixture, because a full 40-minute effort is what it will take to stop the skid.
St. Bonaventure will tip off against Davidson at 6 p.m. on Feb. 4 in the Reilly Center.
