For the St. Bonaventure women, there were two Reilly Center games this past week that resulted in a Big Four win, followed by a tough setback.
Scores: St. Bona 64 Buffalo 57
Albany 62 St. Bona 53
Points of attention:
Mac and Gabby. Sophomore Mackenzie Pettinelli and senior Gabby Robinson are two returners from last season. Both have been steady contributors early on, but their presence was key in the win over Buffalo last Wednesday. Paula Lopez, a 15 ppg scorer and Buffalo’s primary option, scored 13 points. Lopez shot 6 of 23 from the floor, including 0 for 8 from downtown. Bona coach Jim Crowley credited ‘Mac’s’ excellent defensive effort as crucial in slowing down Lopez. Cowley also took note of Robinson’s defense, highlighted by her career-high three blocked shots.
The veterans. Laycee Drake made several key plays down the stretch as Buffalo came back from a double-digit deficit. Drake finished that game with a game-high 21 points.
Going into Saturday afternoon’s meeting with Albany, Drake may have had mixed feelings and nervousness toward her former team. Drake finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting. Aaliyah Parker, a graduate like Drake, responded with an 18-point, seven-rebound effort.
Contrasts. As previously noted, the Bonnies built a sizable lead but had to hold off Buffalo’s late game rally. Against the Great Danes, the Bonnies struggled in the first half, shooting 23% from the floor while committing 13 turnovers. At halftime they trailed 32-17.
In the second half, the Bonnies came alive and cut Albany’s lead to single digits. In the end, the brown and whites couldn’t get the job done. There was a silver lining in Crowley’s assessment.
“UAlbany was a good basketball team and was going to put pressure on us to perform at a consistent, high level,” Crowley said. gobonnies.com. “We started the attack slowly. The first half was just mediocre and we still had a chance. I saw a lot of things in the second half that showed what we are capable of.”
Bona legacy. A number of women’s basketball alumni made the trip back to Bonaventure and the Reilly Center. Specifically honored were the 1986-87 and 2015-16 teams. “At one point there was 60 years of women’s basketball happening over the weekend,” Crowley noted. “To make sure that our current players and the alumni know how much they mean to us, how important women’s basketball is, I think it’s a microcosm of what our university is, and the community around it.”
Next. The next three games are at the Cleveland State Invitational. The Bonnies face the host Vikings on Wednesday. This will be followed by games against Radford on Friday and Valparaiso on Sunday.
The next win for the 5-1 Bonnies will match last year’s total of six.
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