By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Between the start of the 2025-26 season and now, the growth in support for the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team has not gone unnoticed.
On two separate occasions during its 72-71 overtime win over Duquesne on Feb. 7 the crowd, one that has only grown in numbers over the course of the campaign, popped. Once, following a tough shot from Kylie Buckley that drew a foul and forced overtime, and again after watching Laycee Drake nail the game winner with three seconds left.
It was the loudest the Reilly Center had been in some time for the Bona women and head coach Jim Crowley acknowledged that those moments have added fuel to their fire.
“You can see the number of bodies, you can hear the noise, and feel the energy and excitement in our building,” Crowley said. “And our kids are aware of it. They feed off it. They embrace it. There’s an energy they feel on campus and out in the community, whether it’s people saying ‘good game,’ or stopping them to say hi, or kids after the game getting autographs.There’s an excitement that’s back and to our kids credit, they’re delivering on that. … My experience is that if you play really hard and you play as a team, this is a very educated fan base, and they will appreciate that.”
Following the win over the Dukes, Crowley pointed to Buckley in specific when talking about what it means to be a true part of the program.
Buckley had not started a game all season for the Bonnies until the Duquesne fixture, a start that mainly came due to an injury to typical starter Gabby Robinson. She made the most of her minutes, scoring one massive bucket after another late on, but to Crowley it was no real surprise considering the work that he has seen her put in behind the scenes.
That energy and attitude that he believes is now coursing through his team, is what has seen them turn what was a recent five-game losing streak into consecutive, important victories.
“Saturday was a program win,” Crowley said. “We had injuries, our opponent was playing really well, and we had to lean on different people. Those people came through and it just felt like what I hope our program will be. … Not only all the players, but all the coaches, the fans, all the people connected to it are all pulling in the same direction. It really felt like that all week, during both wins, and it’s felt like that most of the year, even when things weren’t going great. So, our challenge, and my challenge, is to make sure we appreciate it, but keep demanding it and keep growing it.”
And while a significant portion of the success of the Bonnies can be attributed to how well all of the first-year players in the program have gelled, not to be glossed over is the impact the few returners have had. In fact, it is those returners, Robinson and Mackenzie Pettinelli, that have been responsible for the small details being done correctly. For instance, Drake’s game winning bucket against Duquesne would have been made much more difficult if it were not for a pivotal, solid screen courtesy of Pettinelli.
“That’s what it’s all about, getting some continuity, some experience, and you realize how much you can impact a program,” Crowley said. “(Pettinelli) also made a huge timeout call in the Davidson game, and was prepared to call the timeout late in the Duquesne game. … All those things matter a lot. As you’re building a program, it’s great that people make shots, but who’s in the right position defensively? Who’s making sure people are staying on task all the time? We’re getting more and more of those people who not only do that, but people who are receptive to that.”
Over its last two games, Bona has got one complete team performance after another. But it will perhaps need its most well-rounded game next time out as it travels to take on Richmond for the second time this season.
“It’s (going to come down to) doing stuff better,” Crowley said. “They play at such a high level, both with their pace and their execution. They came off a loss when we played them before. Now they’re coming off eight or nine straight wins, and just having given George Mason their first conference loss. … They’re in a good place. They’re even better at home. So it’s a good challenge for us to keep getting better.”
In the first matchup between the sides this season, Richmond used a big third quarter to cruise over the finish line, handing Bona an 80-60 loss, its second-largest margin of defeat of the season. At the break the Bonnies found themselves down just eight points against a team that had been ranked in the Top 25 to start the season, but it was a number of lapses following the intermission that ultimately condemned them.
“They’re so explosive,” Crowley said. “If you break down on three straight possessions, that could be a 9-0 run. So the attention to detail, from everybody who’s on the floor, has to be at a really high level and consistent. That’s where the challenge is. You may get away with some of that stuff against some other people. You’re not getting away with it against Richmond.”
In round one, the Spiders scored 42 points from beyond the 3-point arc and 34 points in the paint. But where the points came from was not necessarily the biggest takeaway for Crowley. In his eyes it was more about how quickly the damage was able to be done.
After regaining possession, Richmond was able to get up the court, find an open look and knock it down without facing much resistance. For a team built on a ‘defense first’ foundation, it was uncharacteristic how quickly and easily Bona gave up points. The Spiders’ 80 points still stands as a season-high in points against for the Bonnies.
“They really hurt us in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock,” Crowley said. “So, our early defense has got to be much improved for a variety of reasons. We have to make them go a little deeper into some of their things, and maybe that helps our offense a little bit. Those shots are a little bit tougher when they’ve had to reverse the ball a few times, set a few screens and do a few different things. … It’s going to be about can we do a much better job against the early offense.”
The trio of Mallory Heise, Ivona Djikanovic and Gabby Robinson are set to miss more time with injuries against Richmond and therefore the defensive responsibilities will fall to the same unit that came up with the win over Duquesne.
“It’s a good challenge for us defensively,” Crowley said. “We had (Mallory Heise) and (Ivona Djikanovic) and Gabby (in the first game against Richmond). We had three of our better defenders in that game. So, it’s a good chance for some other people to step up.”
St. Bonaventure will look for what would be a true statement win at the home of the A10’s preseason favorite on Feb. 11. Tip-off against Richmond is set for 6 p.m.
