By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — St. Bonaventure women’s basketball coach Jim Crowley knows that his team let a positive result slip through its fingers last time out.
It was a matter of moments, several split-second mental lapses, that eventually all came together to construct the demise of the Bonnies against La Salle.
So what has to change? According to Crowley, in a way, he needs his players to stop focusing on their opponents and start focusing on themselves.
“The thing is we got to continue to focus on ourselves,” Crowley said. “We got to keep trying to get better, we got to keep learning from opportunities. We certainly let one go on Wednesday, and they’re correctable things. So, while doing that, also making sure we’re ready for Duquesne. They play a very different way. They’re very talented, they have one of the best point guards in the country. So, mixing in that preparation, while making sure we’re focusing on getting better in consistency.”
Bona is set to welcome Duquesne, one of the hottest teams in the Atlantic 10, into the Reilly Center on Feb. 2.
The Dukes have won each of their last three games, all by 10 or more points, and five of their last six after starting conference play winless through its first three games. A big reason for that success is the presence of Megan McConnell, one of the nation’s top point guards according to Crowley. McConnell is averaging a packed statline of 18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 4.1 steals per game.
“Their pace is really good and it all starts with McConnell,” Crowley said. “I mean, she just is excellent at finding people and getting people involved. Their initial defense is unique, because there’s a full-court pressure, there’ll be high traps, but then they’ll also really be scout-based. So, sometimes it kind of gets you sped up, other times it lulls you into ill advised shots. So, it’s going to be a really good test for our young kids, how to handle that and how to bounce back and forth. It could be a really good test for our defense to handle their transition and the pressure that McConnell puts on you.”
What makes stopping her so difficult, Crowley noted, is that they pretty much have to prevent McConnell from touching the ball. Whether it’s taking advantage of the easy ones or finishing through contact, she has the ability to make teams pay for giving her an inch of breathing room.
“The first thing is, you can’t give the ball to her,” Crowley said. “She gets six to 10 points a game just taking it in for easy layups. Then, you can’t bail her out when she does drive. So, if you take those away, now you’re making her earn it a little bit more. So, as much as it is defensively, offensively, you’ve got to limit her ability to get things going. … So, you got to team-defend. If her or (Jerni Kiaku) are able to go one-on-one, without people in lanes, it’s going to be a tough afternoon.”
Kiaku is the other prong, alongside McConnell, in Duquesne’s dangerous guard attack. She is the only other member of the Dukes that averages double-figure points per game with 13.9.
But as good as those two, and the rest of the guards the Dukes have, are, they simply need to be that effective as they do not have many big presences to take the attention away. Duquesne only has two true forwards on its roster and one, Kaitlyn Ammons, hasn’t played since early December. This means the majority of post duties will fall on Kiandra Browne, who averages seven points per game.
That opens a window of opportunity for the Bonnies as Caitlin Frost, Hannah Richardson and Gabby Robinson Forde will all be looking to get more involved.
“We’ve got to be able to get involved, and they’ve got to be able to create some stuff for themselves as well,” Crowley said. “While we do have to focus on their guards, I think we did a little bit too much of that (against La Salle) and we allowed some other people to get big baskets. So, again, that’s part of the growth. … Even if our game plan is this, we still can’t give away the basics.”
That mettle of St. Bonaventure will be tested against the red-hot Dukes on Feb. 2 with tip-off slated for 1 p.m.
