By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — According to St. Bonaventure women’s basketball coach Jim Crowley, within every game there are lessons to learn.
What upsets him is the number of times his team has had to re-learn the same lessons. This was the case in its 83-45 loss to Davidson on Jan. 18.
“There’s always lessons, that’s our job as coaches,” Crowley said. “The frustrating thing is, we’re repeating lessons. We made a lot of the same defensive breakdowns today (that we did against Richmond), and that’s on me as a coach that we’re not correcting those. The fact that over two games we’ve given up 30 made 3s is not where we need to be. Giving up 98 and 83 points … is not where we need to be. So credit to Davidson, but I’m just really disappointed in our defensive execution and effort.”
Crowley anticipated the Wildcats to enter the game energized after their previous loss to Richmond, a fellow Atlantic 10 title contender.
He was spot on.
Right from the first whistle, the Bonnies were the victim of an all-out offensive barrage from Davidson, the latter claiming the opening quarter by a 21-6 margin spurred on by nine consecutive points from Charlise Dunn.
Slow starts have been a point of concern for Crowley all season. Too many times he has seen his players settling for shots that then leave them exposed to a fast break the other way. Dunn played a big role in creating that headache for Bona as she took advantage of all the space she was finding herself in.
“It’s very habitual that we come out very unsure,” Crowley said. “You know, we settle for some jump shots early and it gets us in trouble. When we miss, we then are exposed defensively a little bit, so there’s no time to dwell on it. We have to learn and get better.”
“(Davidson) comes off the loss to Richmond, and (Dunn) didn’t have a very good game. So, we talked about that they’re going to go to her and she took advantage of it.”
St. Bonaventure forward Hannah Richardson (33) looks for a pass down low. (Spencer Bates)
Dunn led all scorers in the game with 17 points, but her teammates did not go without getting a lick in themselves as 13 different Wildcats found their way on the scoresheet including Mallorie Haines and Tomisin Adenupe who contributed 15 and 10 points respectively.
The Bonnies failed to make it difficult for their guests to score, as can be seen in the sheer number of different scorers. Oftentimes, Davidson players found themselves with favorable mismatches underneath the basket and open 3s. This, Crowley noted, was all a product of their passing mixed with the fact his team were, once again, reacting instead of being proactive on defense.
“With a team that moves the ball that well and passes it that well, if you don’t, first of all, have high hands on the ball, they’re able to move it comfortably, and they were because we weren’t doing that,” Crowley said. “And then, if you’re late to where (you need to be), if you’re reacting to them, they pick you apart. And we were. We really tried to stress moving when the ball moved, get yourself in position ahead of time. And even in that fourth quarter, the way they would get the ball so low, we just weren’t moving to where we needed to and they just threw it in and got easy ones.”
And as the Bona defense sputtered, so too did the offense, which was unable to find a consistent source of production. What didn’t help was that Dani Haskell and Caitlin Frost both picked up knocks and exited the game for a number of minutes at different times, leading to some inconsistency on the court on offense. Both did manage to return to the game and Crowley believes they will be OK moving forward.
But those minutes were not the sole reason for the lack of points being put on the board. As the game progressed, Crowley noted that his team were simply not driving to the basket, opting to kick the ball “east and west,” another habitual error that his team has become accustomed to.
“The physicality on the ball early, really started us sideways,” Crowley said. “I think, as we dig a hole, our confidence gets shuttered. When we see a little pressure, we tend to dribble instead of moving the ball with the pass. One of the things we struggled with is ball pressure and that showed today. We become pretty easy to guard when we go East-West.”
Zoe Shaw led the Bonnies with 13 points. Haskell was the only other Bona player to finish in double figures with 10 to her name.
St. Bonaventure forward Gabby Robinson Forde (15) pulls up for a mid-range jumper. (Spencer Bates)
The Wildcats, after a 24-point fourth quarter that put the final touches on the game, got themselves back in the win column. As for the Bonnies, they will look to do the same as they prepare to head out on a two-game road trip where they will face Saint Joseph’s and Fordham, two current top-5 teams in the conference.
The first game of their trip, against the Hawks, is set for Jan. 22 with a 7 p.m. tip-off time.
