By Mikael DeSanto
Sports Assignment Editor
The St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball team defeated the Stony Brook Seawolves 51-37 Wednesday night, giving them third straight win.
“I thought we did it with our defense tonight. They have been locked in all week,” head coach Jesse Fleming said. “It was a short turnaround, a walkthrough and a practice, they were locked in and just doing a great job executing a game plan [and] keeping the ball out of the paint. We have been doing that the last three games now, actually four games, and the results are showing.”
The Bonnies jumped out to a 6-0 lead quickly, while Stony Brook struggled to get its offense going. Though the Bonnies baskets were sporadic, they were able to piece enough together to score 10 points in the first quarter, while Stony Brook failed to score, trailing 10-0 at the end of the quarter.
“That was kind of the message before the game: ‘you started so well, let’s do it again,’” Fleming said. “I called a dumb play that got a moving screen to start the game, and then the kids did everything else after that. They did a great job. They’ve come out with more energy, more intensity than the other team the last three games.”
The offensive struggles continued to open the second quarter for Stony Brook as the Bonnies extend their lead to 14-0. But at the 8:10 mark of the quarter, Stony Brook broke through with a layup and a foul, with the free throw being converted.
This sparked Stony Brook’s offense, with them scoring nine straight points to cut into the Bonnies lead. But the Bonnies were able to respond, going on an 8-3 run to end the quarter and head into halftime up 22-12.
The leading scorers at the half were freshman guard Jalisha Terry with eight points for the Bonnies, and sophomore guard Davion Wingate with six points for Stony Brook.
Terry opened the third quarter by continuing her hot streak, quickly scoring another six points to tie her career high of 14 by the 6:07 mark of the quarter. Stony Brook returned to struggling on the offensive side, scoring only four points by the 4:32 mark in the quarter, while the Bonnies scored eight in that time.
After the Bonnies extended their lead to 36-16, Stony Brook went on an 8-2 run to end the third quarter, dropping the deficit to 38-24 heading into the final quarter.
The teams traded points to start the fourth quarter, with graduate forward scoring Gabby Richmond scoring four points to help the Bonnies hold their lead. Stony Brook made a push to try to get back into the game, scoring six points in a minute and a half, but it would fall short.
After one final basket from Terry, the clock ran out and the Bonnies got the win.
Sophomore guard Davion Wingate led Stony Brook in scoring with 10 points, along with three rebounds and three steals.
Terry led the Bonnies with a career high 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.
“I really feel more comfortable,” Terry said. “It was really was become of my teammates though, like at practice, and this past week I gained trust with them. So now that I am on the floor I feel more comfortable and I am not panicking, or I don’t have the jitters as much as I did before.”
The Bonnies will next play on Dec. 6 when they welcome Bucknell to the Reilly Center at 7 p.m.
desantmj13@bonaventure.edu
