By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — After claiming its third consecutive win to start the season, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team has wind in its sails.
But it wasn’t just that the Bonnies got the win, it was how they did so that highlighted how deep the talent pool and how close the roster they have this year truly is.
Bona scored just six points and saw just one shot from the field fall over the course of the entire first quarter of its game on the road against Binghamton on Nov. 11 — a slow start that would have spelled certain doom for teams of old. But this year is different. Instead of crumbling and dropping their heads, head coach Jim Crowley’s team banded together, scratched and clawed their way back, scoring 62 points over the next three frames to secure the 68-65 victory.
“One of the things that we constantly talk about being a weapon is our depth,” Crowley said. “While they were subbing in and out, we were able to change some things up that allowed us to get some rhythm back and score in some ways that maybe they weren’t as prepared for. And I just thought the fourth quarter was really good for us. We had some experience with that (kind of pressure) because of (our exhibition against) Daemen. Some people were saying, ‘oh it’s D2,’ but I thought it was really good for us, because they’re used to winning, they’re good at winning, and we had to figure out what to do with possession.”
Laycee Drake led the charge for the Bonnies with a game and career-high 20 points — surpassing her previous career-high of 19 points that she set in her previous game against Niagara. But it was the cast of players behind her that played just as significant a role in the comeback. In fact, it was an exemplary effort from Brillana Boyd, who finished with 15 points and was the Bonnies’ third different second-leading scorer in as many games, who sparked their resurgence into the game. Ivona Djikanovic came off the bench and provided nine points and Aaliyah Parker netted eight of her own, but it was Mallory Heise that may have had the biggest impact as she helped Bona break the hard press Binghamton utilized, scoring seven points, roping in six rebounds and dishing five assists as well.
“Mallory is just a solid basketball player, and she’s been thrust in and her first couple college games have been against teams that press, and she’s really helped us with that,” Crowley said. “We’re going against that press, a lot of times, with three freshman guards, … and that’s really valuable experience for us.”
Crowley did admit that he would have liked to see his team create a bit more separation from the Bearcats down the stretch of the game, and that will be a teaching moment. But ultimately he was pleased they were just able to pull out the result.
“We had a number of chances that we could have put it to a two or more possession game, and we want to learn from that,” Crowley said. “But you’re on the road against a team who’s playing very well, was motivated and confident. So, yeah, we were pleased that we ended up where we did.”
But now Bona’s attention must shift away from Binghamton as they are set for another significant test in Little Three rival Canisius.
The Golden Griffins and the Bonnies have exchanged blows the last number of seasons, and while the former may be entering the affair without a win to their name, they have picked up significant experience against teams like Michigan and Syracuse early in the campaign. This is why the rebounding and turnover numbers for Canisius look the way they do, and according to Crowley his team can’t look at those and anticipate a walk in the park on the defensive end of the floor.
“We always talk about rebounding, we don’t want to give away scores,” Crowley said. “And Canisius is pretty good at offensive rebounding, they have some really good sized folks, so that’s going to be very big for them. But we’ve put a bigger emphasis on offensive rebounding (as well). We think it’s a strength and we want it to keep it a strength. … And we always try to win the turnover battle. So those are always things we work on.”
Offensively, Crowley believes the Griffs will operate similarly to Daemen: by looking to penetrate the paint and being opportunistic. This is why he has made it a point to tell his team that they cannot take any possessions off. He is looking for his players to take the lessons they have learned and apply it, something he was hopeful this roster would be able to do before the season even began.
“My worry about Canisius is the flow of our offense, how in sync we are defensively, and how we defend them inside,” Crowley said. “I think they’re going to really try to pound it in on us. They have some really good size. If we’re not prepared and team-defending that, they’re going to be able to get some confidence.”
Bona narrowly won the bout between the sides last season, 66-63, but what makes this year’s Canisius team so much more dangerous is the amount of talent that it brought back. Having retained a significant number of players that now have more than a year’s worth of experience with their system is going to make finding breakthroughs that much harder.
“I think potentially, all five of their starters tomorrow will be kids that were there last year and played together and practiced together,” Crowley said. “So, it’s a little bit of what we saw against Daemen, if we’re not in sync defensively and we’re gambling or making mistakes out of position, they’re going to take advantage, and they did that against Syracuse.”
Franka Wittenberg, Shariah Gailes and Yasmine Djibril were the key players Crowley picked out from the Canisius roster that can have the biggest impact if given the chance. Each suited up for the team last year against the Bonnies and will be seeking their revenge.
St. Bonaventure will look to make it four wins in a row to start the year and consecutive wins over Canisius for the first time since the 2014 and 2015 matchups between the sides — which were the last two of a 10-game win streak in the series for the Bonnies.
Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. in the Reilly Center on Nov. 14.
