By SPENCER BATES
NEW YORK — For the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team, a tough four-game stretch, all against top-five teams in the Atlantic 10, is reaching its conclusion.
But before it does, the Bonnies have one more shot at a big win on the road against fifth-placed Fordham.
The Rams, winners of five of their last six games, sit with a 5-2 record in A10 play and sport an incredibly deep, physical roster.
All but two Fordham players have averaged double-figure minutes in the games they have played. However, the majority of its scoring comes from a select few sources. Taylor Donaldson and Irene Murua Txintxurreta lead Fordham with 17.2 and 11.8 points per game respectively.
“We can’t give away scores,” Bona coach Jim Crowley said of the Rams’ duo. “We can’t allow them to get easy ones in transition or foul them and put them on the foul line. We’ve got to team-defend Donaldson, be ready off of her screens and have multiple defenders when she drives. And then, with (Txintxurreta), we can’t let her get an easy one. She’s shooting the 3 a little bit more, she’s crashing the boards really hard, so again, we can’t bail her out. We can’t let her get easy put-backs. (And for both) we got to make them guard. We got to make them work a little bit on the other end too.”
Chae Harris and Taya Davis have contributed 8.9 and 7.8 points per game alongside them, but beneath those four the next five players on the roster average less than four points per game. However, that does not mean they are not effective. Combined, those five account for an average of 17.2 points.
And it is for this reason that Crowley said that his players cannot allow themselves to get sped up in their approach to the game. Instead, aiming for a consistent pace of play.
“If we hurry, that’s going to be trouble,” Crowley said. “They do play a lot of different people, they’ve had different people impact them, Davis and Donaldson have been their two most consistent (scorers), and the inside kid, (Txintxurreta). We just can’t let people have big flyers. We can’t let people score 10 over their average, or whatever it may be.”
That task will be made difficult with the level of aggression that Crowley is anticipating the Rams will come out with on Saturday.
“(Fordham is) very physical, very aggressive,” Crowley said. “They really work to create extra possessions for themselves, both through their defense and through the offensive boards. They’re very good at home. I’m expecting a team coming out to try to, honestly, put us away early and kind of impart their will on us, so I look forward to seeing how we handle that challenge.”
Of course, if the Bonnies are to see that challenge and overcome it, they will need to put their slow starts behind them.
In its last four games, all of which ended up as losses, Bona has scored single-digit points in the first quarter of three. The one game in which it did reach double figures in the opening frame was against Richmond where it scored 21 — unfortunately, the Spiders scored 31 in that first quarter.
Now, fixing something like slow starts that have become an unfortunate habit, Crowley admitted, is much more nuanced than fixing a set play or adjusting rotations. It’s about changing the way his players approach the game from a mental perspective.
“It’s happened enough that it’s not something you just think is going to pass,” he said. “You got to really look at it and address it and look to get better at it and to be able to put it together. Some games we’ve defended really well in the first quarter, some games our offense has been well in the first quarter, some games neither has been well. So, we just got to put things together, whether it be being ahead at the end of the quarter or (within) striking distance or just be in a better situation. Some of it is physical things, but right now, when something happens that much, the first thing is you got to overcome it mentally.”
One thing that will hopefully help the Bonnies in that department is the growth and continued development of freshmen Macy Smith and Hannah Richardson. Several times this season Crowley has noted how important it is for his younger players that are playing pivotal roles to get regular time on the court. This, he cited, will help their confidence grow and help them affect the game in a more positive manner.
“Those two kids, their ability to play has been interrupted, but now they are finding some consistency in minutes and at practice, so they’ve been able to get better with that and obviously we want that to continue,” Crowley said. “They’ve taken advantage of their opportunity and now we need it to continue.”
“We’re certainly pleased with how people are developing. We obviously want to find more consistency and we’ve got to help them develop defensively. But, you know, they’re getting better and that’s ultimately one of our top goals; we get better each day.”
St. Bonaventure will hope to see that continued development culminate into a big performance on the road on Jan. 25 when they square off against Fordham. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
