By SPENCER BATES
KINGSTON, RI — Despite an extremely positive first half, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team suffered a 66-45 defeat at Rhode Island as the Rams took over down the stretch.
The Bonnies headed east to take on the current Atlantic 10 leaders and through just about two frames, they brought the fight to the hosts.
Out of the gates it was Bona’s leader in just about every statistical category, Laycee Drake that carried the torch. Netting six of her team’s 10 first quarter points, she nearly out-scored the entirety of the Rams, who stumbled through the first frame.
The Bona defense was stout to begin, holding Rhody to seven first quarter points on just 3-for-13 (23%) shooting from the field.
But as the game wore on, the Rams got ever more comfortable. They took a narrow 22-21 lead going into the break and part way through the third quarter, they ran away with the result.
Rhode Island won the third 18-10 and truly sealed Bona’s fate by winning the fourth frame by a 26-14 margin.
“I’m really proud of our effort,” Crowley said. “Credit to Rhode Island. In the second half they really attacked the rim, and we were a step slow. They put a lot of pressure on us, on both ends. We can learn from this one. But again, I’m proud of our effort. We split the week, which is a good thing, and we’ll have ourselves ready for Wednesday.”
Drake finished with the team-high in points, rebounds and assists for the Bonnies, scoring 12, grabbing seven boards and dishing three assists. Aaliyah Parker had the second-most points on the team with eight to go along with four rebounds.
Sophia Vital led the Rams with 14 points and six rebounds. She was one of four Rhode Island players to finish with double figures, the others being Palmire Mbu (12 points), Brooklyn Gray (12 points) and Vanessa Harris (11 points).
