By SPENCER BATES
ERIE, PA — For the grand majority of time, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team was stuck in a nailbiter on the road against Mercyhurst.
In their sixth consecutive game away from home, the Bonnies were far from without their mistakes. But what stands out is that even with all the errors, they were still able to pull out a 60-57 win over a weathered and battle-tested Lakers side.
“First of all, credit to Mercyhurst, they made some really big shots and we couldn’t separate,” Bona head coach Jim Crowley said. “They had a great second quarter and late in the third quarter, they made some really good plays. We just ended up making some mistakes at really crucial moments that we got to learn from. I think three times we turned the ball over, up seven. We had the chance to get (the lead) to double figures.”
Out of the gates, the Bonnies struggled to get any offense going outside of the ever-reliable Laycee Drake — who scored each of the team’s 12 first-quarter points.
Three big 3-pointers courtesy of Elyse MacDonough, and the odd buckets from Aaliyah Parker, Brillana Boyd and Mackenzie Pettinelli helped prod the Bona operation onward in the second quarter. But it would not be enough as the Lakers offense would find life.
Mercyhurst, which was lifted by a game-high 23-point effort from Sofia Wilson, scored 23 points to Bona’s 15 in the second frame, leading to a halftime advantage for the team yet to win a game this season.
Out of the intermission though, the Bonnies defense completely shifted gears. They had gone from porous to impermeable in the blink of an eye and conceded just seven points in the third frame to the 19 they netted.
Crowley has been relatively happy with the defense his squad has played as of late, but still feels like there is more to unlock. Their third quarter display was a closer glimpse as to what he believes they can achieve on the defensive end with a full, consistent effort.
“I don’t think we’re defending at the level we’re capable of,” Crowley said. “In the third quarter, we showed what we’re capable of. I thought we really guarded with great intensity and discipline for the most part.”
But for all the work they had put in to pull back ahead in the contest, it threatened to be all undone by a late push from the Lakers. Down the stretch the Bonnies struggled at the free throw line, finishing the game 4-of-12 from the stripe, and its defense began to leak points. Fortunately, with time on their side, they had done just enough to drag the result over the line.
After the fact, Crowley recognized there is plenty of work still ahead of his team. But if there were some positives to take away, it was that his side absolutely dominated the paint, winning the area by a 34-8 margin, kept some of Mercyhurst’s most dangerous scorers quiet and, once again, found a way to edge out a close victory on the road.
“We dominated the paint, which we wanted to do. We shot the ball, other than at the free throw line, better than we have in the last few games. We held one of their leading scorers to four points. So there certainly still were a lot of positives,” Crowley said. “We’re playing a lot of close games, and we’re figuring out ways to win. … That aspect was good, and we just got to keep getting better.”
Up next for Bona is the final game of its extended seven-game road trip — one that will have lasted just shy of a month when all is said and done. It will make the trip to Washington D.C. to face Howard University for one final test before Atlantic 10 conference play starts on Dec. 31.
“We’re going to look at it as basically as the start of our Atlantic 10 season,” Crowley said. “(Howard’s) played a number of Atlantic 10 teams like VCU and (George Washington). They’ve played Power Four teams. They are a very good, consistent, winning program. It’s going to be a good challenge for us, and that’s why we set it up when we did.”
The Bonnies will take on the Bison on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.
