By Taylor Nigrelli
Sports Editor
The women’s basketball team shook off the rust of an eight-month offseason Saturday as they defeated the Edinboro Fighting Scots, 65-43, in an exhibition matchup.
Despite the final score, the game was close for quite a while. Edinboro out-rebounded the Bonnies 26-14 in the first half and trailed just 32-28 early in the second half. St. Bonaventure then embarked on a 33-15 run to end the game, effectively shutting down the Edinboro attack.
This second-half effort occurred in spite of Head Coach Jim Crowley rolling out a lineup that featured almost exclusively underclassmen (fifth-year senior Jill Murphy entered the game for the final two minutes). Five sophomores and three freshmen make up the rest of the squad, as senior forward Chelsea Bowker continues to nurse an ankle injury.
Crowley said he was impressed with his team’s ability to close the game with a strong second half, despite the lack of a veteran presence.
“They were pretty locked in,” Crowley said. “It’s not about the scoreboard; it’s about doing things the right way. I thought that was a good thing. This group has had a good memory. When they’ve struggled, they remember that, and when they’ve done well, they’ve remembered that, too. So hopefully, (an all-underclassmen lineup) can be something we can build on.”
One of the five sophomore starters, guard Nyla Rueter, seemed to be everywhere on the court—and on the stat sheet. She hustled, chased down loose balls, played aggressive defense and got to the foul line. She finished the game with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks.
“That’s Nyla. She’s a really great player,” Crowley said. “We’ve seen that. She’s obviously a lot more comfortable a year in. She’s more comfortable with her teammates and her environment. She had a tremendous first half, and she got a little tired in the second half. She’s a really good weapon because she can handle the ball, she can shoot it, she can get to the rim and she can get better defensively.”
Sophomore forwards Katie Healy and Hannah Little also made their presence felt on the court Saturday as they combined for 33 points and 14 rebounds. According to Crowley, these two players build off each other – when one’s playing well, it makes the game easier for the other player.
“Hannah can be a tough matchup – especially when Katie’s rolling,” Crowley said. “That can be a great duo. So, if you try to double Katie, Hannah’s going to find herself wide open.”
Despite scoring 65 points in Saturday’s exhibition, the Bonnies didn’t make a single three-point field goal on three attempts. The team concentrated much of its activity around the hoop.
Crowley maintains that this was part of the team’s game plan.
“We really stressed getting to the rim, and we made some good decisions,” Crowley said. “I thought (sophomore guard Emily Michael) did a great job of showing the ball and getting it to the them. I thought (freshman guard Oney Harrison) did so, too. We just didn’t need to take those shots. There’s no sense in taking shots farther away if we can get them closer.”
While Crowley saw a few positives Saturday, he admitted there were plenty of areas he’d like to see his team work on.
“I saw some things we’ve been seeing in practice, good and bad,” Crowley said. “I like how we adjusted in the second half. We defended better and stopped letting them rebound so much. We were able to share the ball. We had 15 assists. We obviously have to be better at free throws. We have to shoot the ball a little bit better from the perimeter. And we have to take better care of (the ball)…There’s certainly a lot of things to build on and a lot of things to get better at.”
