Photo: St. Bonaventure Athletics
BY WILL POLADIAN, MANAGING EDITOR
With only ten rostered players to begin the season, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team boasted the smallest roster of any Atlantic 10 Conference team. Since then, the roster has only gotten smaller.
Four of the team’s ten players have carried injury designations into games this season. Three have missed at least one-whole game due to injury. Despite Bona seemingly catching the injury bug, players and coaches expressed confidence that the team will continue competing at a high level.
In Bona’s season opener against Niagara, senior guard Nadechka Laccen took the inbound pass and drove to her right up the floor. She then got driven towards the Bonaventure bench, slipping and falling into a chair and hitting the back of her head on it. She then was carried off by four members of the Bonaventure bench and into the locker room. She did not return to the game.
“It really brought us together,” said senior guard Dani Haskell. “When something goes well, we are there for each other; when something goes bad, we are there for each other. We are just so connected.”
Later in the same game, senior guard Tianna Johnson fell and landed face-first hard onto the floor. She was also helped to the locker room and did not return. Johnson missed the majority of last season due to injury, as well.
“One of the things we thought was really important was the culture that was coming and how these guys cared about each other,” said Crowley. “These are the moments that that shows, and I thought it showed pretty well.”
Haskell was also unavailable against Niagara, forcing Crowley to finish the game with just seven eligible players. Despite the score being tied at half, Bonaventure lost by 24 points.
Then came the question of what would happen if something else happened to the team.
Laccen and Johnson were ruled out for the next game against Robert Morris University just three days later. Haskell was able to go, so the Bonnies started with eight players for the game.
Early in the first quarter, senior guard Maddie Dziezgowski had her leg landed on as she was going after a loose ball on the floor. She had a brace on her right knee and saw very limited action for the rest of the game. Later in the same game redshirt senior forward Claire Cody had her left leg land awkwardly, and she was taken out for a few minutes but was able to return for the rest of the game despite appearing limited.
“Our transition defense [was] let down a little bit at times,” said Crowley. “Some of that was not having Maddie available. She’s kind of the anchor of that.”
Haskell and junior guard Isabellah Middleton stepped up in their absences to lead the Bonnies to a victory over the Colonials.
“Yeah, it just gives us another score,” said Crowley. “It freed some things up for other people without question. Claire stepped up really well. Payton [Fields] had a really good game, [and so did] Bella [Middleton]. Everybody did some positive things to help us.”
Now with UAlbany on Thursday and Binghamton University on Saturday, Crowley will have decisions to make on how he gameplans for combating these losses while trying to win and coach his players.
“There’s nothing [else] you can do, we got to play the games,” said Crowley.
As of Thursday morning, four Bonnies are listed as day-to-day — Middleton, Dziezgowski, Johnson and Haskell — while Laccen remains out.
“[They are] game-time decisions based on how they feel,” said Crowley.
The Bonnies will face the Bearcats on Saturday in the Events Center at 1 p.m.
“It comes from us internally in our team,” said Middleton. “We know we have each other, and [we have to] play for each other.”
poladiwj20@bonaventure.edu
