By Harrison Leone
Sports Assignment Editor
The Big Four is officially Jim Crowley territory.
The women’s basketball coach has now won 19 in a row against Canisius, the University at Buffalo and Niagara with the Bonnies’ 73-57 victory over the Purple Eagles on Tuesday night. Crowley said playing these regional rivals is extra motivation for his team.
“They’re not conference games, but they’re at the same level for us,” Crowley said. “We really feel like if we’re going to be recognized, we have to do so locally. We understand how important these games are, and our kids do a great job of preparing.”
Sophomore Nyla Rueter, who netted a career-high 18 points, agreed that being the best among Western New York schools is important to the players.
“It’s really important to win the area,” Rueter said. “We try to step up our games when we play these teams.”
Rueter finished second on the team in points on Tuesday behind fellow sophomore Katie Healy. Healy had the strongest game of her career at SBU, setting personal bests in points (21), rebounds (14) and assists (5).
The Purple Eagles, who remain in search of their first win, never held the lead and were scoreless for the first seven minutes of play. St. Bonaventure held a 39-20 lead at the half, forcing Niagara to shoot 37 percent from the floor. The second half was not as strong for SBU, as they allowed four threes and were outscored 37-34.
Crowley said he hopes his team will be able to find a more stable defensive presence as the season progresses.
“I think we saw a little bit of our youth,” Crowley said. “We thought about the wrong things, and we’ve got to learn to not play to the scoreboard. I know we have a standard that we can compete at, so it was disappointing we couldn’t be consistent with our defense.”
In the opening minutes of the contest, the Niagara bench was particularly vocal, harassing any Bonnie who strayed onto their side of the court. Healy said the Brown and White were able to overcome the distractions offered by the Purple Eagle’s howling substitutes.
“I don’t think it affected our play at all,” Healy said. “We just drowned it out and kept playing.”
Rueter agreed the players were able to remain focused on the action on the court and attributed SBU’s scoreless opening five minutes to fatigue.
“I don’t think it mattered. I think with us, it was just kind of a slow start,” Reuter said. “We had a couple games in the past few days and our legs were kind of tired.”
Some of St. Bonaventure’s most reliable scoring threats were subdued against Niagara. Redshirt freshman Gabby Richmond had scored in double digits for the first four games of the season before being held to only four points on Tuesday. Senior Chelsea Bowker, who had 18 against Fairfield last Sunday, was limited to six points and went one for six from beyond the arc.
Crowley said Bowker’s game rests on her ability to gain confidence in her long range shooting and to position herself well for open shots.
“When she sees one go in, there’s a good chance we’re going to see a lot go in,” Crowley said. “She’s really cagey with the way she understands our offense. She can really get her feet under her, and her shots are paired very well within our game.”
Tuesday’s game marked the completion of a three-game home stand that saw SBU take the court three times in five days. The Bonnies only trailed once during those contests, falling behind to Wisconsin-Green Bay before rallying to a 68-62 victory.
The schedule will remain packed for St. Bonaventure in the coming days. The team will take part in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge in Storrs, Conn.
The tournament features three games in as many days and will kick off today at 5 p.m. versus Monmouth University. The Bonnies then play Boston University Saturday at 2 p.m. before concluding their weekend against the top-ranked women’s program in the nation, Connecticut.
Crowley said he does not think his team will be over-worked and welcomes the opportunity for his young squad to log more minutes playing together.
“It’s a really unique system, but so has our schedule been so far,” Crowley said. “I like having us with our backs against it so we can see how we respond.”
Five games into the season, SBU stands at 4-1, their only loss coming against the yet-unbeaten North Carolina State Wolfpack. Crowley said that his players must continue to form a sense of team identity if they are to continue to be successful.
“I think we’re in the process of understanding who we are,” Crowley said. “Offensively, we’re doing some very solid things. I’m pleased with the acceleration of our development, but obviously, we have some deficiencies we need to keep getting better at.”
leonehj11@bonaventure.edu
