By SPENCER BATES
PITTSBURGH, PA — It wasn’t the prettiest game by any margins.
The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team scored just 15 points in the first half of its game at Duquesne and shot just 28.3% from the floor for the entire game.
But the Dukes were not without their struggles either. They had just 22 points through two quarters and were even worse from the field, shooting 23.6% for the game.
Consistent offense was simply tough to come across for both sides and the game would be decided by whichever team found a way to solve that puzzle first.
Powered by a 15-point second half from Aaliyah Parker, it would be the Bonnies to come up with the solution as they grabbed a 46-38 win on the road.
Parker played just 22 minutes of the game, sitting out a grand majority of the opening half. Her 15 points all came once she made her return in the second. She was the engine for head coach Jim Crowley’s team as it scored more points in the third quarter than it did through the entire first half (17 points).
That pace kept up as it scored 14 in the final quarter. And while the offensive resurgence was the major reason for the win, the late game defense was nearly as influential in the result as Bona held the Dukes to just six points in the fourth.
“I’m really proud of our group, it was a great team effort, a great show of our togetherness and toughness,” Crowley said. “(Duquesne) is a really hard place to win. We dug ourselves a little hole, but we just stayed with it and stayed together. I’m just proud of the way that we played and finished the game in particular.”
Parker was the only Bona player to reach double figures on the night. Behind her, Laycee Drake netted eight points and made a big impact on the glass with eight boards. Mackenzie Pettinelli had the next highest point tally with five.
But while there was not a ton of scoring by any individual player other than Parker, the Bonnies followed through on the challenge Crowley gave them ahead of the game: win the bench points.
Duquesne has just two players on its roster that don’t average double-figure minutes per game. That depth has the ability to cause problems for opposition defenses.
Fortunately for the Bonnies, its depth has been one of its biggest assets this season as well and against the Dukes, they won that battle by a 16-8 margin.
Alexis Bordas was the only player for Duquesne to reach double figures, scoring 11 points.
St. Bonaventure moves to 11-5 on the season and 2-2 in Atlantic 10 play with the win — matching their in-conference win total from all of last season. It will travel to take on current A10 leaders Rhode Island for its next game, set for Jan. 10 at 1 p.m.
