By Zach Waltz
Sports Assignment Editor
The women’s basketball team put on a strong performance against the La Salle Explorers on Wednesday, winning 58-35.
Head Coach Jim Crowley said the Bonnies disrupted La Salle’s offense with their solid defense.
“We set goals to get to the foul line more than them and to out-rebound them,” Crowley said. “We lost some of our defensive discipline at half, but we did a good job of contesting shots. Our defense isn’t usually very flashy.”
While he acknowledged his team’s 20 turnovers, Crowley lauded it for its offensive performance.
“Offensively, we had way more turnovers than we should have,” Crowley said. “We did a great job of getting the ball in the right spot, and obviously, Katie (Healy) did a really good job of finishing. She doesn’t get the single coverage that she had if our other kids aren’t where they need to be. I thought it was a really good team effort offensively.”
Sophomore forward Katie Healy had 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and added a steal. She gives credit to the team for playing well and giving her the chance to get a solid stat line.
“I just did what the team needed me to do,” Healy said. “Everyone did their part in this game. I think that is why I got a lot of those stats, but everyone chipped in.”
The Bonnies held the Explorers to 11-54 shooting, 20 percent. Crowley complimented La Salle on their offensive playmakers and said the Bonnies did a great job of forcing them into bad shots, which they couldn’t make.
“They’ve got some kids that can put the ball in the basket, and they’re kids that, when confident, really can do some good things there,” Crowley said. “We allowed them to get some things to the basket, and they executed pretty well. Our goal was make them have to play offense longer and play defense longer, which is kind of always our goal. We were hopeful that would maybe frustrate them a little bit and hopefully impact some of their shooting numbers.”
Healy and sophomore forward Hannah Little connected on a couple plays and accounted for 40 of the team’s points. Little said her and Healy just get each other.
“We play well together,” Little said. “We read each other well.”
Healy went on to explain their very close-knit friendship away from the game is what makes them work well together in-game.
“I think a lot of the on-court chemistry comes from our chemistry off the court,” Healy said. “The friendship that we have really helps. I can read her when she’s going to cut and where to give her the ball.”
Healy finished with 27 points, a career high. Her double-double makes three straight, with six on the season. She was 9 of 10 for field goals and 9 of 10 for free throws. She praised her teammates for giving her the best opportunities to score.
“Last game, I was rushing my shots,” Healy said. “This time, I focused on my shots, and my teammates got me the ball in the right spot.”
Crowley said the team always had bodies in between the La Salle shooters and the basket, which is why their shooters couldn’t find a stride.
“Our defense is at its best when the opposing team feels like they had a lot of shots they should have made,” Crowley said. “Then they tend to get frustrated and hurry some of those. Everything was with someone between them and the basket, which is our goal.”
La Salle’s 35 points is the smallest point total the Bonnies have allowed an opposing team this year. Crowley said he couldn’t be happier about their defense in this game and what it could mean for future games.
“If you can keep a team under 40 in this league, you’re doing some good things defensively,” Crowley said.
