By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — When squaring off against one of the nation’s best point guards and a team that thrives in transition, the key is limiting possessions and denying the easy baskets.
That is exactly the mindset St. Bonaventure women’s basketball coach Jim Crowley had ahead of his team’s first matchup against Megan McConnell and Duquesne on the season.
However, conceding 33 points off 25 turnovers and 26 fast break points made overcoming the Dukes impossible as they ran away with an 80-46 win over the Bonnies.
“We just gave them too many possessions,” Crowley said. “They’re really good at early possessions, and, obviously, they’re really good off turnovers, we had 25 of those. And then they’re really good when you take early shots and we probably had another 20, 25 of those. So, we’re giving them 40-plus possessions that they’re good at and it showed.”
McConnell was at the forefront of the Dukes’ early attack, scoring seven of her team’s 18 first quarter points, five of which came in the midst of an early 10-0 run. But she was far from done there.
St. Bonaventure women’s basketball forward Caitlin Frost (21) looks to drive into the paint between two Duquesne defenders. (Spencer Bates)
Prior to the game, Crowley noted that the best way to take McConnell out of the equation was to simply deny her the ball. But not only did she get the ball, McConnell finished with a game-high 17 points on over 58% shooting to go along with nine rebounds — four of which were offensive — five steals and three assists all while turning the ball over just twice.
“She had five steals, I think that was probably 10 points, another steal, she got a run out, so there’s 12, she hit the 3 that we would give her, now you’re at 15 and probably two free throws,” Crowley said. “So, a lot of it came from our stuff to control. Now, that’s easy to say, she’s obviously a very dynamic player, but we didn’t keep her away from that stuff like I think we’re capable of.”
Duquesne may have been able to score somewhat at will, shooting an even 50% from the field as a team on the night, but almost half of its points were the result of the defensive pressures that forced turnovers.
Throughout the game, Bona was consistently tasked with the need to break full-court presses from its guests. A good experience for his players, Crowley acknowledged, who was not overly concerned with the turnovers that Duquesne forced, instead taking aim at the ones that were self-inflicted.
“I thought it was good for us to go against,” Crowley said of Duquesne’s press. “I would say that number (of turnovers) should have been 20 or less. Two (were passes) we didn’t catch, we had at least two travels where no one was around, they took the ball from us two, three times. So, that number of 20, that’s a workable number with the way they play and the number of possessions. We got to get rid of those gimmies.”
And where the Dukes succeeded in seeing the ball through the hoop, the Bonnies struggled, shooting just over 30% from the field as a team.
Dani Haskell led the offense with 11 points, but she was the only player for the hosts to finish in double figures.
With the guard-heavy roster that Duquesne has, Crowley was hoping to see an emphasis put on getting the ball down low and getting Caitlin Frost and Hannah Richardson touches in the paint. A plan that did not pan out as the two combined for just nine points.
“We didn’t do a good job getting the ball (down low) because we were taking so many early jump shots,” Crowley said. “We missed our chance to get them some touches. Twice we got into Hannah and got some good things. We didn’t get Caitlin there at all. That was on us. And again, they play that way that gets things moving a little bit, so we weren’t able to take advantage of that again. We get to see them again, so hopefully we correct some of those things.”
St. Bonaventure women’s basketball guard Zoe Shaw (32) puts up a contested shot while falling away from the basket. (Spencer Bates)
Not all was bleak for the Bonnies though, which saw a big spark in the form of Gabby Robinson Forde come off the bench. She may have only tallied six points, but she roped in a game-high 10 rebounds, five of which were on the offensive end.
“It was effort,” Crowley said of Forde. “She got herself to the rim, which she’s pretty good at. Offensive rebounding is contagious. She went after them, and then Zoe went after a few and Hannah went after some. It’s something we got to get better at. We don’t shoot the ball great, so it’s an opportunity and we got to keep getting better at that.”
St. Bonaventure ended its two-game homestand with its seventh consecutive loss. Its next chance to get back in the win column will be on the road on Feb. 5 against UMass. That game will tip-off at 6 p.m.
