By Mikael DeSanto
Sports Assignment Editor
The St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball team fell to the Dayton Flyers 62-60 Wednesday night at the Reilly Center in Atlantic 10 conference action. The Flyers won on a three-point shot in the closing seconds.
The Bonnies (6-9, 1-2 A10) shot 42.9 percent (21-49) from the field and 50 percent (7-14) from three, outshooting the Flyers (8-7, 2-1 A10), who went 39.6 percent (21-53) from the field and 34.8 percent (8-23) from three.
“Offensively, [junior guard Mariah Ruff] started it right away, got down, got attacked and then got attacking,” Bonnies head coach Jesse Fleming said. “She started to just make shots and feel it, so that’s really helped. [Freshman guard Sarah Hart] being a playmaker was another big thing. I thought [senior guard] Imani Outlaw came in, stat lines not great, but I thought she brought a lot of energy and flew around. It’s as complete of a game as we have played.”
The Bonnies lost the second chance points battle 25-9, which Fleming attributed to the size the Flyers had in the paint.
Both teams traded baskets to open the game, with neither holding the lead for very long throughout the first quarter. The Bonnies finished the quarter with a 6-2 run to give them a four point lead heading into the second.
The Bonnies offense was rushed early in the second quarter, which the Flyers took advantage of by outscoring them 10-2 in the first four minutes of the quarter. As the Flyers tried to extend their lead, the Bonnies were able to creep back in and, with the game tied and time expiring, Hart was able to get a floater to go, giving the Bonnies a 33-31 lead at the half.
Ruff led the Bonnies in points at halftime with 16 and redshirt senior Kelley Austria led the Flyers at the half with seven points.
Both teams started the second half strong, combining to score 18 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter. This continued for the rest of the quarter, as both teams matched each other and the Flyers led 47-45 going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter began with the teams trading runs: Bonnies 8-0 and Flyers 7-0. After a back and forth for a majority of the rest of the quarter, the Bonnies took a 60-59 lead on two free throws from Ruff. But the Flyers would have the final say, as senior guard Christy Macioce drilled a three to give them a 62-60 lead and leaving 0.8 seconds left on the clock.
Ruff caught an inbound pass and got a clean shot off, but it rimmed out, giving the Flyers the win.
“For me, it almost is a win because even that last play is literally everything that you want and you’re fine with that shot,” Fleming said. “Literally it’s the ball bouncing one way or another, so I’m almost feeling like the way we guarded #14 (junior guard Jenna Burdette), the way our forward jumped out and took away any penetration. She’s just a great player and they were so locked in. It was coming with the way we have been playing and I hope we keep it going. I’m thrilled with the way we played.”
Ruff finished as the Bonnies scoring leader with 25 points, along with four rebounds, four steals and three assists. Hart added 15 points and graduate forward Gabby Richmond grabbed nine rebounds for the team.
“I was just getting good spots; people were hitting me,” Ruff said. “My teammates were helping me out, setting good screens, finding me when I was open, which is a good thing.”
Austria topped the Flyers with 14 points, with junior guard JaVonna Layfield contributing a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and redshirt junior Alex Harris also grabbing 11 rebounds.
The Bonnies will next play Saturday in Richmond when they take on the Richmond Spiders at 3 p.m.
desantmj13@bonaventure.edu
