By SPENCER BATES
FAIRFAX — Despite an increased output on the offensive end, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team suffered an 83-61 defeat as it struggled to find a way to stop a strong George Mason side.
On the road against one of the best teams, in terms of overall record, in the Atlantic 10, the Bonnies recorded their highest point-tally in a game since their 76-point outing against Niagara on Dec. 17. But while the scoring may have been cranked up a notch, the result did not fall their way like it did against the Purple Eagles.
This can be chalked up to the even higher offensive production rate of their hosts.
Both Bona and George Mason shot just over 42% from the field but it was the latter that took 23 more shots than the former. The Patriots scored 10 more baskets on the interior and four more from beyond the 3-point arc. What hurt the Bonnies even more was that they turned the ball over 19 times — 12 coming in the second half — to their host’s 10.
Still, coach Jim Crowley found areas within Bona’s game that pleased him. For one, he noted that the determination to keep fighting was visible. George Mason led by a wide margin for the majority of the game after a 27-point first quarter, but early in the second half, the Bonnies cut the lead to 14 and gave themselves a chance.
Unfortunately, a 16-2 run in the fourth quarter extended the deficit to 28 points, the Patriots’ largest of the game. Bona still managed to chip away slightly before all was said and done and cut the differential to 20 by game’s end.
“We talked a lot about continuing to fight and playing the way we wanted to play,” Crowley said. “I thought we improved that. We just had a lot of breakdowns defensively. … We played pretty well in that third quarter, and then early in the fourth quarter, we stopped moving the ball with the pass, we dribbled a little too much, and that led to tired shots, which allowed (George Mason) to break out with multiple layups in a row. … But credit to our kids. It looked like it could have really got out of hand there, and we didn’t allow that in that last bit. We can’t give up 27 points in the first quarter, and we can’t have 12 turnovers in the second half.”
St. Bonaventure guard Mackenzie Pettinelli (1) attempts a layup. Pettinelli finished with 11 points for the Bonnies. (St. Bonaventure Athletics)
What made a complete comeback that much harder for the Bonnies was the fact that for any offense they got going, the Patriots were able to come up with an answer.
George Mason recorded 20 fastbreak points, 20 points off turnovers and 13 second-chance points. Bona tallied just six, seven and one in those categories.
“That’s what good teams do,” Crowley said of George Mason’s persistence. “We’re trying to teach our group the understanding of how possessions work. We talked about when you play a really good team and you score, they’re coming at you. How do you handle that? How do you get stops? That’s how you build leads. Right now, we’re playing from behind a lot. I thought the first five minutes of the game we were where we needed to be, and then we broke down. … I thought we competed the whole time, but that’s what good teams do. We’ve got to understand we have the ability to stop that.”
The Bonnies were able to keep themselves in the game mainly thanks to the presence of Caitlin Frost. In her first career double-double performance, she put up a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds while shooting just shy of 54% from the field. Bona was able to close out the game with a 10-2 run — eight of those points having been scored by Frost.
“I thought we did as good a job as we’ve done in a long time of getting her some touches,” Crowley said of his team’s ability to feed Frost on the day. “That frees up other things. We’ll continue to get better at that and continue to understand how that can get us drives and kick-out shots and just help us get the ball moving. We’re seeing some people do some good things. We got to put it all together. That’s a little too much of a repetitive claim, but four people in double figures today is solid. It’s just hard to win when you give up 83.”
St. Bonaventure forward Caitlin Frost (21) looks to drive past a George Mason defender. (St. Bonaventure Athletics)
Three other Bona players finished with double-figures against George Mason. Dani Haskell, despite having struggled from 3-point range — going 0-for-5 there — finished with 10 points, Zoe Shaw tallied double figures for the fifth straight game with 12 against the Patriots and Mackenzie Pettinelli provided a spark from off the bench going 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from deep on her way to 11 points.
Bona, now 0-3 in A10 play, will return home for its next two games after its brief trip to Northern Virginia. The first of which will be against Saint Louis on Jan. 8. Tip-off for that game is set for 6 p.m.
