Nov 17, 2009
Bonnies ready for Big 4 rival Canisius
GAME DAY CENTRAL
Date: Nov. 17, 2009
Tip-off: 7 p.m.
Site: Buffalo, N.Y.
Arena: Koessler Athletic Center
WEB RADIO: www.GoBonnies.com
Talent: Shannon Shepherd and Kevin Clark
LIVE STATS: www.GoGriffs.com
LAST MEETING: Nov. 19, 2008
St. Bonaventure 60, Canisius 56
SERIES: Canisius leads 20-19
UP NEXT: vs. Niagara
Thursday, Nov. 19 at Noon at the Reilly Center
At a Glance
The Bonnies are in the midst of a five-game schedule in
10 days. They beat Binghamton on its home court then shut down
Akron 67-37 in the Reilly Center. , The quick trip to Canisius is
the first of two Big 4 rivals St. Bonaventure faces this week. The
Brown and White wrap up their fourth game on Thursday with an
afternoon game against Big 4 team Niagara at home. The team has a
short four day break before heading to Lafayette before
Thanksgiving.
Series History
Today’s matchup will be the 43rd meeting between
these two in-state foes with the Golden Griffs holding a 22-21
all-time advantage. The Bona women have won the four out of the
last five series meetings. The Brown and White won the last
head-to-head clash against Canisius in 2008 when they upended the
Golden Griffs, 60-56 at the Reilly Center.
Scouting the Golden Griffs
The Griffs are coming off a disappointing loss to Mount St.
Mary’s 55-51 on Saturday. Senior Ellie Radke led Canisius
with a game-high 17 points (7-for-14 shooting) in the game, to go
along with six rebounds and three steals in a career-high 35
minutes. Senior Brittané Russell had 10 points in 29 minutes
while freshman Ashley Durham added nine points. Canisius adds fiev
newcomers to its roster while returning eight including all two
starters. Three Golden Griffins earned preseason all-MAAC honors -
Brittane Russell (first team), Ellie Radke (second team) and
Micayla Drysdale (third team).
In Our Defense
The Bonnies held Akron to only 37 points marking the second time
in as many season that an opponent was held under 40. Last season,
the Bonnies shut down Yale, allowing only 35 points to be scored.
St. Bonaventure holds 5.0 turnover margin against opponents. The
Bonnies have held their opponents to 30 percent shooting. Akron did
not have any players score more than six points and gave up 26
points off turnovers. The Brown and White have forced their
opponents into 43 turnovers in two games.
No Trail Mix
The Bonnies have not trailed in their 80 minutes of play this
season. Binghamton tied 14-14 at the 9:38 mark in the first half of
the opener, but St. Bonaventure ballooned that lead to 14 by
halftime. Akron was within two three minutes into the Bonnies home
opener, but again the Bonnies would not let the Zips come within
seven points of their lead.
Seeing Double
Senior Dana Mitchell now has 92 double-figure
scoring games through her career, sitting at third on the all-time
list. With three more, she would move into second on the all-time
list and could surpass the top spot with six more games of
double-figures, beating out Hilary Waltman who has 98. The record
has stood for almost 10 years.
A Time for Second Chances
The team exploded in the second half against Akron busting to a
31-point advantage late in the second. Five second half-threes plus
two jumpers and free points added to the 40-17 margin in the second
stanza. Off the bench, sophomore Linsey Niles scored five within
her five minutes against the Zips. Classmate Jessica Jenkins was
the difference maker in the second half against Binghamton putting
up three 3-pointers, four buckets and two from the charity stripe
to notch 13 points.
Moving down the line
Every member of the Bonnies’ bench has seen action in the
last two games. At Binghamton, the bench accounted for 13 points,
while against Akron they scored 17. Sophomore Linsey
Niles made an instand impact in her six minutes against
the Zips, dropping a three and one jumper. Freshman Alaina
Walker has been a defensive hog pulling down a total 13
rebounds in two games
Tight Schedule
The Brown and White play five games in 10 days, one of which
started yesterday on the road at Binghamton. Returning home today
against the Zips, the Bonnies make a quick trip to Big 4 rival
Canisius. St. Bonaventure plays its last game in the six-day run
against Niagara. The afternoon match up is a “Youth
Day” event for area schools to enjoy Bonnies’
basketball. The team gets the weekend off before heading to
Lafayette on Tuesday, Nov. 24 to end the jump start to the
season.
Moving Up in the Books
Senior Dana Mitchell is only 99 points away from
moving into the fourth spot and 133 to move into third on the
all-time scoring list in the program record books. Even with two
consecutive seasons of scoring 500+ points, the Fairless Hills,
Pa., still trails the top spot held by Hilary Waltman by 643
points.
Super Seniors
When seniors Andrea Doneth and Dana
Mitchell joined the team in 2006-07, the Bonnies had not
had a winning season in eight years. In their rookie season, St.
Bonaventure went 16-15 to break the trends of years past. Now,
three seasons later, the Bonnies have 57 triumphs, totaling more
than the program’s combined total from the last six years
(2000-06).
Preseason Accolades
Senior Dana Mitchell was tabbed as a Preseason
Atlantic 10 All-Conference first team member. Mitchell returns for
her final season in the Brown and White following a junior campaign
in which she garnered All-Conference second team accolades for the
second consecutive year. She averaged 15.5 points to rank second in
the conference and pulling down 5.6 rebounds per contest. The
Fairless Hills, Pa., native also shot 50.3 percent from the field
and 82 percent from the free throw line to rank seventh and fourth,
respectively, in the conference.
Can’t Wait to get on the Road again...
The Bonnies only travel to six non-conference games this season,
but will travel more than 4,000 miles and spend almost six combined
days traveling. St. Bonaventure hopes to continue its
out-of-conference road success in the 2009-10 season following a
6-3 non-conference road record last season.
Winning Ways
For the second time since 1981 and the first time ever at the
Division I level, the Bonnies posted three consecutive winning
seasons. Prior to the Bonnies arrival in Division I, Bona tallied
four straight winning seasons between 1977 and 1981 as well as
back-to-back positive campaigns in 1984-85 and 1985 all under
former boss Mary Jane Telford.
Familiar Faces
The Bonnies face 24 of the same opponents as last year including
10 non-conference foes. St. Bonaventure went 18-8 against these
opponense, going 8-2 in non-conference play, falling to only
Bowling Green and later-ranked Marist. The Brown and White added a
victory against Temple for the first time in seven years and beat
eventual A-10 tournament Champion Charlotte to close out the
regular season schedule. St. Bonaventure also upsetranked Michigan
State at the Reilly Center to earn its first votes in the Associate
Press (AP) Top 25 Poll .
