Bonnies shut down Rhode Island, 63-53

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Bonnies' 25 free throws the difference in the game

KINGSTON, R.I. – Behind a 23-point performance from senior Dana Mitchell, the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team led wire-to-wire as it topped Rhode Island 63-53 at the Ryan Center on Saturday afternoon as it closed out its regular season.

With the win, St. Bonaventure sets a program record 21 regular season wins, sitting 21-8 overall and 9-5 in Atlantic 10 action heading into the A-10 Championship on a four-game winning streak. The Bonnies also won their fifth conference road game to set a program record.

The loss knocks the Rams out of a chance for tournament play as they fall to 9-20 on the season and 2-12 in conference play. Fordham and La Salle hold a tie breaker over La Salle who are also fighting for a chance in the tournament.

Free throws proved to be the difference maker in the game as the Bonnies went 25-for-30 (83 percent) from the line compared to only 3-of-4 for the Rams. For the game, the Bonnies shot just 42 percent (17-41) from the floor while Rhode Island hit 23-of-49 for 47 percent shooting.

Mitchell scored 12 of her 23 points at the charity stripe. The 6-foot-1 forward shot just 5-of-11 from the field including one from long range. With her performance today, Mitchell now has 1,934 career points.

Joining Mitchell in double figures were sophomores Jessica Jenkins and Armelia Horton each adding 10 points. Jenkins totaled nine of her 10 points in the first half on three trifectas while Horton went 2-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.

St. Bonaventure held a slight edge off the glass 27-26, including nine on the offensive end that converted to 10 second chance points.

The Bonnies quickly jumped out front thanks to opening back-to-back treys from Jenkins to lead 11-4 by 15:48 in the game. Rhode Island closed the gap though to three points on a Lindsay Harris lay in, 17-14 with 9:12 left in the half.

St. Bonaventure regained a nine-point lead, 25-16, the biggest of the half, after two lay ups from Horton and Mitchell and two Horton free throws with seven minutes to play. Mitchell’s basket at 7:34 was the last one of the half as the Rams went on a 9-2 run to give the Bonnies just a two-point advantage, 27-25, going into halftime.

The second half opened with seven free throws before Megan Van Tatenhove hit the Bonnies first jumper since 7:34 of the first half at 15:12 to give the Bonnies a 36-30 advantage. The Rams answered their missteps going on a 9-4 run to pull within one on a three-pointer by Sherrie Session with 10:54 on the clock, but that was the closest Rhode Island would strike.

The Brown and White stayed ahead from three to nine points over the remaining nine minutes before two Andrea Doneth free throws closed the game and gave the Bonnies their biggest lead of the game. With double-digit margin of victory, the Bonnies have won their all of their conference games by double figures.

Sophomore Lara Gaspar had a career-high 22 points going 11-of-18 from the field and paced the Rams. The Rams’ leading scorer junior Megan Shoniker totaled nine points for Rhode Island. This is the third game in which the Bonnies have held their opponents’ leading scorer to under their season average.

The Bonnies now await their seed in the 2010 Women’s Basketball Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship. For the first time in its 28-year history, the Championship will be at a neutral site. The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md., hosts the tournament with opening rounds starting March 5.