By SPENCER BATES
NIAGARA — Ahead of his team’s first road game of the season at Niagara, St. Bonaventure women’s basketball head coach Jim Crowley warned that it will be no normal environment.
The Purple Eagles and their trademark “Hurricane Havoc” defense was set to be a significant test for the Bonnies. Crowley noted that the feeling of the Gallagher Center is unlike many other courts they play on. It is compact, noise bounces off the walls and from the moment you step on the floor you are being guarded.
That is exactly the game plan Niagara came with. Bona’s chemistry and maturity were tested early and often as the hosts allowed little to no breathing room when off the ball.
It took a mighty effort, and there were certainly rough patches, but the experience of the veterans in Crowley’s team shined through in the end as the Bonnies weathered the storm and took down the Purple Eagles 74-56.
“I’m really proud of our group, this is a tough environment to play in,” Crowley said. “(Niagara) plays so hard and they make you earn everything, and I thought our kids did a really good job with that. I particularly liked our response after, early in the second quarter, having lost some of our discipline. Instead of panicking, we rallied back to what we do, and we were able to build it back up to halftime. In the second half, I thought we did a great job of getting the ball in the middle against their pressure, and making some really good decisions and getting ourselves to the line and sharing the ball.”
Bona had got off on the right foot, pushing their lead to nine after the opening frame, but some mistakes, fouls and that staunch Niagara defense unraveled all of its hard work up to that point. A 9-0 run by the Purple Eagles put them up by one, but it was the stretch of time immediately after that told the story of the game. The Bonnies made the adjustments they needed to on the fly and went on a 16-0 run of its own.
“I think we do a good job of rolling with the punches whenever it happens,” Bona guard Laycee Drake said. “They (led by) one and we responded well. We did the same thing against Daemen in our exhibition game. So, I think that’s a really good thing.”
Bona’s offense remained red-hot after the half, resulting in a combined 31-6 scoring run.
Leading the way once again for Crowley’s side was Drake. It was her ability to break through Niagara’s full-court press and score or find an open teammate that spurred the surge. She finished with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Mallory Heise and former Purple Eagle Aaliyah Parker contributed heavily on the scoring front as well for Bona, recording 14 and 10 points, respectively, with the latter adding five rebounds to her tally.
“This is just such a good game for us because it is such an intense rivalry,” Crowley said. “It’s such a hard place to play. They play so hard and in a unique style, and Jada (Pierce) does such a good job with that. We have a lot of young players in our rotation, so to have the maturity that (Laycee, Aaliyah) and Gabby (Robinson) have, it just calms us. Things looked a little iffy right at the start, but I think once Laycee made a couple baskets, everyone kind of took a breath and we settled in. The same thing happened when they made a little run in the second quarter.”
Drake and Parker have been the driving force behind the Bonnies this season. Averaging an even 16 points and just under six rebounds per game, including the team’s final scrimmage against Daemen University, the UAlbany transfer is finding herself a staple of the lineup. Parker is also making herself a factor with 11 points and four rebounds per contest, including her stats from the matchup with the Wildcats on Oct. 29.
But aside from what the two have done on the court, the leadership and characters they have been off the floor have been just as noticeable to Crowley.
“They have a long way to go, but fortunately, we had some familiarity with them and have known them and their game quite well,” Crowley said. “We expected them to contribute, and they obviously have, but they’ve been even better leaders and human beings than we could imagine. They’ve just been really positive impacts on what we’re working to build.”
It is another significant win for the Bonnies, who have started the season 2-0 for the first time in four years. But still there is more Crowley is looking for from his team.
“We gave up 27 points in the fourth quarter, I’m not real thrilled with that,” Crowley said. “So, we got to tighten some things up and finish the game off a little better, defensively. But there’s a lot of things to build on, a lot of things to keep getting better at, but anytime you can get a win up here, you take it and get home.”
St. Bonaventure, shooting for its first 3-0 start to a season since 2012-13, will look to keep its positive start to the season alive in its next game, an away fixture at Binghamton on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
