By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Two teams currently at the bottom of the Atlantic 10 table will look to turn the tides of fate in their favor as the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team is set to host Saint Louis on Jan. 8.
Both the Bonnies and Billikens find themselves with 10 losses on the season, the former having been on the losing end of their last four contests while the latter, their last three. They are two of three A10 teams, Duquesne being the other, still in search of their first in-conference victory of the season. Ultimately, one will achieve their goal of turning the tables their way while the other will be left to carry on without a tally in their A10 win column.
Bona’s most recent loss, an 83-63 defeat at the hands of George Mason on Jan. 5, was yet another negative mark against the team. But, according to coach Jim Crowley there were a number of positives that his team was able to take away from the affair that will hopefully spur the team in the right direction ahead of its SLU fixture.
The most predominant bright spot was Caitlin Frost. The freshman forward recorded her first-ever collegiate double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against George Mason while shooting over 50% from the field. After the game, Crowley noted how pivotal finding and utilizing Frost down low will be as the season progresses as it will only create more space on the floor and opportunities for outside shooters like Dani Haskell and Zoe Shaw.
“Continuing to get her ball, we’ve got to get better at that,” Crowley said. “The more different ways you can get the ball into the paint, the tougher you are to guard. I think I saw some of that. I’ve seen some more of that in practice, and hopefully we continue with that, because teams have got to worry about some of our shooting, and if that’s the case, it should open up room for her and she took advantage of it on Sunday.”
Speaking of Haskell, despite being Bona’s leading scorer on the season thus far, she struggled with her shot the last time out, finishing 3-for-11 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range. According to Crowley, those struggles come with the drastic amount of attention a shooter like herself draws, but she cannot let the pressure cause her to crack and has to make sure she is taking the best shots and not forcing anything. Against George Mason, he acknowledged that he saw much better discipline from her, in that respect, than he did against Rhode Island and that if she continues on this path then her “slump” won’t last very long.
“I think she took really good shots (against George Mason),” Crowley said. “I thought, in the Rhody game, she forced things a little bit. She was really receptive to our conversation about that. (George Mason) took away some jumpers, although she had some open ones, and I thought she did a good job getting to the hoop and drawing some fouls. She is going to get some good looks tomorrow and, knowing Dani, she doesn’t stay in slumps very long.”
Now, when it comes to the Billikens, Crowley noted how much they like to play in transition. Peyton Kennedy, Brooklyn Gray and Kennedy Calhoun each average double-figure points for SLU and enjoy playing on the fast break. He noted that if Bona can make them play in the halfcourt more, that will be its best chance at stopping their attack.
“They play with really good pace in transition,” Crowley said. “So if we’re taking bad shots or turning the ball over, they’re really good at turning those into points. … They rely a little bit more on the perimeter. So, we’ve got to make sure we’re getting them in the halfcourt a lot.”
Ultimately, as Crowley noted after his team’s loss to Rhode Island on Jan. 2, he is in search of a continued “uncomfortable effort” from his players. He admitted that he saw a bit of that effort against the Patriots and so long as they continue to show that resolve, they will have a chance at success against SLU.
“To me, uncomfortable effort is giving your best when it’s going rough,” Crowley said. “(George) Mason put a press on us up 25 and we responded with an 8-0 run. To me, that’s a sign that they understand the fight we’re talking about. Now, how does that carry over tomorrow when Saint Louis comes in here, desperate for a win, and goes right after us? … It doesn’t always mean going up by 20, but it means how you handle adversity. I didn’t think we handled it great against Rhode Island. I thought we showed a better response against Mason, and I’m excited to see how we handle it with Saint Louis.”
Bona and Saint Louis are set to square off at the Reilly Center on Jan. 8 with tip-off set for 6 p.m.
