Photo: gobonnies.com
BY: Will Nunn, SPORTS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
As they near the midway point of the Atlantic 10 season, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team sits in last place in the conference standings.
Amidst a difficult season, there are a few bright spots that the team can look positively towards. Namely the play of their freshmen, who have been relied upon in increasingly important roles as the season has progressed, in part due to injuries to key upperclassmen.
In Saturday’s loss to Fordham, the Bonnies eight-player rotation consisted of five freshmen, four of whom started. Three freshmen played at least 32 minutes, including crucial time late in the Bonnies two-point loss.
Bonnies freshman guard Zoe Shaw led the team in scoring for the third consecutive game with a career-high 22 points and five rebounds in 39 minutes. Freshman forward Caitlin Frost added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Bonaventure head coach Jim Crowley attests the increase in production from his freshmen to the consistency of their playing time, adding that being able to be on the floor with each other so frequently has allowed them to flourish.
“They have been able to be in the lineup five, six, seven games in a row now,” said Crowley. “They’ve been able to get their feet under them and get reps, and they’ve been able to play together.”
Shaw has started in all 20 of the Bonnies’ games this season, while Frost has started in 12 of her 14 appearances. Freshman guards Mackenzie Pettinelli and Hannah Richardson have started in 18 and five contests respectively, and freshman guards Macy Smith and Lena Walz have logged minutes in 17 and 12 matches respectively.
“As the year has gone on they’ve gotten a feel for the level they have to play at,” said Crowley. “I think the ability to consistently be on the floor together is helping them with their productivity as well.”
The six freshmen are all among the teams’ top nine leading scorers on the season, while Shaw and Pettinelli lead the team in assists per game and Frost leads all Bonnies in rebounds per game.
Crowley also credits the veteran leadership, especially senior guard Dani Haskell, in assisting with the freshmen’s quick transition to the college game.
“[Haskell] has been playing a lot of minutes with them and communicating with them really well,” Crowley said. “She kept us playing the way we want to play and has been a good example talking the young folks through the tougher things and being an example of how to deal with them.”
With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Bonnies will look increasingly upon their freshmen to provide a spark in an otherwise dull season, and in doing so, will provide them with valuable experience for the coming years.
