The St. Bonaventure women got back on track in a big way. The Bonnies scored a come from behind victory over Canisius to even their ledger at 2-2. Tuesday’s 66-63 decision at Canisius Koessler Center ended a two game slide for coach Jim Crowley’s group. Numbers:
Possessions: 72
A faster paced game with both teams running given the opportunity.
Offensive efficiency: St. Bona 93, Canisius 88
Bona defense checked in with an impressive efficiency. Their best to date was an 85 allowed in a loss at Youngstown State.
Four Factors:
eFG Pct.: St. Bona 47, Canisius 46
FT Rate: St. Bona 42, Canisius 26
OREB PCT: Canisius 35, St. Bona 12
TO Rate: St. Bona 17, Canisius 22
Among the Four Factors two items jump off the page. First is offensive rebounding percentage (OREB). Bonnies were beaten on to offensive boards by a 12-4 in raw numbers The Griffs Shariah Gailes had more offensive boards (6) than the whole Bona team. Canisius was over the 20% turnover rate. The turnovers have been a consistent achilles heel for coach Tiffany Swoffard. Through four games, Canisius averages 26 miscues per game for an excessively high 32% turnover rate.
Points of Emphasis:
Resilience. The game was a microcosm of the season to date. The Bonnies opened the campaign with an impressive home win over Binghamton. That followed with road losses to Youngstown State and Bowling Green, the latter a 51 point setback. Heading to Buffalo for a third straight road contest, the Bonnies responded.
The game itself saw Canisius get out to a 12 point lead at the half. The Bonnies outscored Canisius 25-14 in the third period. Defense stepped up limiting Canisius, which shot 54% the first half to just 27% during that game changing third period. Entering the final ten minutes trailing by one, the Bonnies went on a 7-0 run to grab the lead. The lead grew to six points late but Canisius would hang around. The Brown and White would not relinquish the lead. That final possession though, was a bit unnerving for the Bonnies. Canisius trailed by three, pushed the ball up the floor and got a good look from the wing. The potential game-tying shot rimmed out at the buzzer.
“Really proud of our group,” Crowley told gobonnies.com. “Credit to Canisius they were very good in the first half and we were not….To our credit we came out with energy in the second half.”
Dani Haskell. They are in different conferences these days but anyone with knowledge of the traditional Little Three will tell you the Bona-Canisius rivalry is storied and extremely intense. For Bona’s Dani Haskell it had to be a game she pointed to with an extra bounce in her step. Haskell played three years at the MAAC school before transferring and heading 60 miles south to Olean. The 5’6” redshirt senior scored a game and career-high 29 points. Haskell made a succession of crucial plays, especially in that fourth period crunch time. Haskell hit several big three pointers while also penetrating and finishing in the lane. On the night she logged a team-high 35 minutes en route to a memorable ‘homecoming’.
Inside job. Bonnies had difficulty matching up with Canisius size in the paint. That’s something that needs to be addressed down the road. Canisius had a 41-26 rebounding advantage. The Griffs also enjoyed a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint. Franka Wittenberg, a junior guard, paced the Griffs with a dozen points. A good deal of the damage however was done up front. Gailes, a 6′ sophomore was a force registering an 11 point, 12 rebound double-double. Mariam Sonogo, a 6’2” junior grabbed eight boards.
Notes: Isabellah Middleton was the Bonnies other double figure scorer with 14. Bonnies shot a clutch 77% (17 of 22) from the charity stripe. Canisius fell to 1-3 and will host Buffalo on Friday. Bonnies will entertain Colgate at the Reilly Center on Saturday. Bonnies took a 30-29 lead in the all-time series. Haskell’s 29 points were the most by a Bona player since Mariah Ruff scored 30 against George Mason in February of 2018. Game had three ties and 11 lead changes.
