By SPENCER BATES
KINGSTON, RI — At the tail end of the non-conference portion of the season, St. Bonaventure women’s basketball head coach Jim Crowley needed to see his team execute in the late stages of its games.
The Bonnies caught a glimpse as to what would befall them on a regular basis in Atlantic 10 play in their early conference affair at Saint Louis in which the Billikens pulled away at the very death.
Well, if there is one thing this Bona team has been able to do this season, it is heed instruction.
Against George Washington it was late game brilliance that handed the team its first A10 win of the year. The same was the case in its most recent game at Duquesne as it shut down the Dukes offense, conceding just six points throughout the entire final frame, while — spurred on by 15 second half points from Aaliyah Parker — surged ahead after the scores were level at the end of the third.
Through just four games, the Bonnies have already tied their entire Atlantic 10 win record from last season — a major positive benchmark in the upward trajectory of the program. But there are far more challenges that lie ahead, notably their next game: an away fixture at conference leaders Rhode Island.
The Rams currently have the top rated defense in all of the A10, allowing just over 55 points per game. Meanwhile, they score just over 70 points per game, giving them an A10-best scoring margin of 15 points per game.
That defense will be a big test for a Bona team that had significant problems scoring at Duquesne, where they shot 28% from the field and scored just 15 points before the intermission.
Part of what makes Rhode Island so devastating is the number of returners it has on its team. Just one of its top six scorers has played for a team other than the Rams during their collegiate careers, resulting in a system that is well understood and operated like a machine.
But even for the three players on their roster that have played somewhere else, the schools they played for are other Atlantic 10 teams. Therefore, they still know what it takes to win in the league.
Brooklyn Gray is one of those new additions to the team. She leads the Rams, averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Palmire Mbu and Vanessa Harris are the other players that average double figure points per game for the Rams at 12.4 and 11.3, respectively.
Shutting down that trio will be pivotal for the Bonnies, who have established a track record for taking away teams’ best scorers this season, forcing others to step up.
St. Bonaventure will look to topple the conference leaders and surpass its A10 win total from last season against Rhode Island at 1 p.m. on Jan. 10.
