BY ANDREW HALE, SPORTS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
After narrowly losing 49-45 to George Mason last month, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team looked to split the season series against the Patriots Wednesday night. The Brown and White couldn’t get the offense going as they fell to George Mason 65-51.
Graduate senior Nikki Oppenheimer led the way early for the Bonnies as she scored five points in the first five minutes. Only six more Bonaventure first-quarter points would be scored as the Patriots got out to an early 21-11 lead going into the second quarter.
Oppenheimer returned to the starting lineup Wednesday after coming off the bench Sunday against Saint Louis. The graduate senior would finish the game with nine points.
Offensive struggles continued to haunt the Bonnies as the team shot 4-of-11 from the field. While George Mason only shot 40% from the field, they were still able to outscore the Bonnies 13-10, taking a 34-21 lead into the half.
Freshman Breauna Ware, who entered the starting lineup last week, began to heat up in the second half. After scoring nine points in the first half, Ware torched the Patriots for 12 second-half points.
Ware led the way for the backcourt as junior Nadechka Laccen didn’t play. Ware finished with a career-high 21 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The Bonnies outscored the Patriots 23-17 in the third quarter cutting the lead to 51-44 at the end of the third. Bonaventure shot 8-of-12 from the field and 40% from three in the third quarter.
Bonaventure’s hot third quarter quickly got extinguished as George Mason went on a 7-0 run to begin the final quarter. Junior Peyton Field, who scored 13 points off the bench against Saint Louis, put an end to the Patriot’s run with an and-one.
Fields would go on to finish the game with nine points, going 2-2 from the three-point line.
Redshirt Junior Kaitlyn Parker and Oppenheimer also scored for the Bonnies in the fourth, but that would be all for Bonaventure.
George Mason would outscore Bonaventure 14-7 in the fourth, ultimately defeating the Bonnies 65-51.
The Patriots outrebounded the Bonnies 41-27 while also shooting 42.9 % from the field. Bonaventure shot 19-of-52 but found success around the rim, scoring 26 of its 51 points in the paint.
The Bonnies travel to Chicago on Saturday to face Loyola Chicago for only the fifth time in team history.
halea22@bonaventure.edu
