BY TOM SEIPP, MANAGING EDITOR
The Bonnies opening Atlantic-10 Conference weekend at home didn’t go as planned, as Richmond, 59-58, and VCU, 69-67, were both able to secure last-second victories at the Reilly Center.
Friday, the Bonnies held host to Richmond and got off to a slow start. In the first quarter, Richmond went on a 12-0 run to open up an early advantage.
But, the Spiders went cold shooting the ball and the Bonnies were able to stick around. Entering the fourth quarter, the Bonnies were just down 10. With just under five minutes remaining, the Bonnies went on a quick 10-0 run thanks to two Olivia Brown threes, including one and-one three-pointer that energized her bench.
“I just give [Olivia Brown] a ton of credit to fight back in the fourth quarter. Yeah, she made a couple shots, but she rebounded, she got into help side and was there,” head coach Jesse Fleming said.
Up by one with the ball, Richmond was fouled and was sent to the free throw line for two shots. They missed both. St. Bonaventure secured the ball and Deja Francis drove to the basket, but passed up a layup opportunity to pass it to the corner with no time remaining.
“I don’t know if Deja gave it up because she had gotten the charge the last time, but I thought it was a layup,” Fleming said. “It was a slot drive that we do everyday… We got the spacing that I had wanted, and I thought we had won the game.”
Asianae Johnson led the Bonnies with 18 points and Tori Harris finished with 12. I’yanna Lops finished with her career-best 11 points in 21 minutes of play.
Fleming said that his message to his team is that he wants them to have the shortest memories possible, as he doesn’t want a loss like Friday’s to lead to another on Sunday.
It felt like deja-vu on Sunday, as the Bonnies had chances at the end of regulation and overtime to get a win, but weren’t able to convert as they fell to VCU.
The Bonnies fell down early yet again, but Fleming’s group was able to bounce back and get back into things thanks to two threes from Brown in part of a large run in the third. It felt like Friday all over again.
VCU continued to make mistakes that gave St. Bonaventure a chance as things winded down. At the end of regulation, Johnson had a chance at the buzzer, and at the end of overtime, it was Harris who got an open look for three to give the Bonnies the lead that didn’t connect.
“There are tears in that locker room and it’s tough for them, but life’s not fair,” Fleming said. “Win, lose, whatever, we go back to work. That’s all you can do.”
The Bonnies struggled securing rebounds for the second straight game. In the first half, VCU had 10 offensive rebounds. After defensive adjustments, the Bonnies were able to out-rebound VCU in the second half.
Harris led the team with 18 points Sunday, Johnson finished with 15.
Deja Francis finished with a much-needed bounce back game. After going scoreless on Friday, Francis finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
The Bonnies will stay in Olean this upcoming weekend, as the team will host La Salle and St. Joseph’s.
