For the St. Bonaventure women, the past week saw two Reilly Center games resulting in a Big Four victory followed by a tough setback.
Scores: St. Bona 64 Buffalo 57
Albany 62 St. Bona 53
Points of Emphasis:
Mac and Gabby. Sophomore Mackenzie Pettinelli and senior Gabby Robinson are two returnees from last season. Both have been steady contributors in the early going but their presence was really significant in the win over Buffalo the past 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 singled out the outstanding defensive effort by ‘Mac’ as crucial in slowing Lopez down. Cowley also noted the defense of Robinson, highlighted by her career-high of three blocked shots.
The veterans. Laycee Drake made several key plays in the stretch as Buffalo was coming back from a double-digit deficit. Drake finished that contest with a game-high 21 points.
In the meeting with Albany on Saturday afternoon, Drake may have had mixed emotions and been nervous facing her former team. Drake finished with nine points on 3 of 9 shooting. Aaliyah Parker, a graduate as is Drake, responded with an 18-point, seven rebound effort.
Contrasts. As noted previously, the Bonnies built a significant lead only to have 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 the break they trailed 32-17.
The second half saw the Bonnies come alive and narrow the Albany lead to single digits. Ultimately the brown and White could not finish the job. There was a silver lining in Crowley’s estimation .
“UAlbany was a good basketball team and was going to put pressure on us to perform at a consistent, high level,” Crowley told gobonnies.com. “We started slowly on offense. The first half was just poor and we still had a chance. I saw a lot of things in the second half that show what we are capable of.”
Bona legacy. A number of women’s basketball alums 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 around the weekend,” Crowley noted. “For our current players and for the alumni to know how much they matter to us, how important women’s basketball is, I think it’s a microcosm of what our university is, and the community that surrounds it.”
Next. The following three games are at the Cleveland State Invitational. The Bonnies face the host Vikings on Wednesday. Following that are contests against Radford on Friday and Valparaiso on Sunday.
The next win for the 5-1 Bonnies will equal last year’s total of six.