By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Fresh off the back of an intense defensive battle with one of the Atlantic 10’s best, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team is looking to get back to winning ways against La Salle.
Last time out, against George Mason, the Bonnies showed how much damage they are capable of when all of their players are on the same wavelength. While they may have only had one double-digit scorer, eight different players managed to score at least four points and all but one player that saw time on the court got a point on the board.
And according to Bona head coach Jim Crowley, that is exactly how his team needs to play.
“That’s who we have to be,” Crowley said. “Obviously, we’re playing really talented and really well-coached teams, and they’re doing a lot of good things to make it difficult for Laycee (Drake) and Aaliyah (Parker) which means it’s opening up things for other people, and I think we’re starting to understand that. We’re continuing to improve, capitalize on, and grow comfortable in those opportunities and really find ways to seize them.”
Despite it going down as a loss, now Bona’s third in its last four games, the George Mason game also had an underlying effect on the team. The Patriots currently sit second in the A10 and are unbeaten thus far. In their games against the other two teams making up the conference’s top three, the Bonnies lost to Rhode Island by 21 and Richmond by 20. Against George Mason it was a one-point game with under three minutes to play.
So while the result may have slipped away at the end and free throws made the margin of defeat look wider than it truly was, Crowley noted that the result still provided his team with a significant amount of confidence that they can hang around with the best of the best.
“I’ve seen the team be frustrated that we didn’t finish the job, frustrated that we performed like that, and then have some other performances that weren’t at that level against other teams,” Crowley said. “That shows me some signs of maturity. We have a high-character group, and I think that’s revealing itself. We had a good performance against (St.) Joe’s and we did not have the performance we needed against Fordham. … (It’s not about) moral victories. We know who we are, but we gotta be that all the time, not just based on the opponent. It’s got to be based on us.”
The Bonnies will look to use that renewed confidence in their next game, at home against La Salle, another team hungry to get back into the win column.
The Explorers had a great start to their season, matching their entire win total from last season in early January. But since picking up their 10th win, they have gone on a five-game losing skid, meaning they will be chomping at the bit to get back in the win column.
“It’s a dog fight right now (in the A10),” Crowley said. “There’s certainly teams that are winning more games than others, but there’s a whole bunch of teams winning the same amount of games. That means every team is still invested and that’s unique in late January, to have the whole league still invested. La Salle is really well-coached and really talented. … They’re a handful. They run a lot of good stuff, they’re going to mix their defenses, and they’ve been in situations similar to us where they’re up nine going into the fourth quarter and lost to Loyola. They went up two in the fourth quarter against Joe’s and lost to them. They were within a basket late against Davidson. So they’re a very talented group that has just been a little unlucky in their last few.”
La Salle leads the conference in steals, averaging 10.7 per game and for Bona the turnover battle has been one of the biggest points of emphasis as of late. In its loss to Fordham on Jan. 18 Crowley’s side gave up a season-high 28 turnovers. Then, against George Mason, they gave up just 11, flipping the script.
Crowley will be looking for a similar effort in terms of ball security against the Explorers.
“I feel like we should be under 14 turnovers per game,” Crowley said. “That gives us a good opportunity. We’re not playing high possession games and we’re not lighting the world on fire shooting the ball. So we can’t give away possessions, and we certainly can’t give away possessions that lead to scores. And that’s what La Salle does.”
The trio of Aryss Macktoon, Ashleigh Connor and Joan Quinn lead La Salle, each averaging double-figure points per game.
Macktoon and Connor, specifically, carry the brunt of the load for the Explorers, each averaging 14.9 points per game while playing a grand deal of minutes. They grab 6.9 and 5.7 rebounds per game, respectively, as well. Granted Quinn isn’t far behind them, averaging 10.5 points per game.
“Those three have all played together and play off each other really well, and they play high minutes, they’re gonna be on the floor a lot,” Crowley said. “Macktoon is excellent off the bounce, just elevates and has a really good pull up game and, as a defender, really runs the floor. Connor just runs it. She’s going to go at her pace. She’s going to read things really well. If you cheat a screen, she’s going to knock down the 3. She’s crafty around the rim. And then Quinn, she gets them going. When she hits a 3, they get fired up. And she’s a tough kid. She’ll go in the post and win loose balls. So, we can’t let Macktoon get to her spots. We can’t give her run outs. We can’t let Connor out-craft us. And we can’t let Quinn outwork us.”
Keeping those three quiet will be pivotal if St. Bonaventure is to get back into the win column. Tip-off against the Explorers is set for 1 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the Reilly Center.
