Bonnies top UMass for first Atlantic 10 win
Jan. 8, 2006
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - After struggling to make shots over the last five games, the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team found its shooting touch en route to capturing a dramatic 68-62 win over Massachusetts this afternoon at the Reilly Center.
Despite taking a 38-27 lead into the break, St. Bonaventure found itself up just one point, 58-57, with 2:42 to go. Freshman Katelyn Murray then proceeded to sink her third trifecta of the game to make it 61-57. After UMass sank a three of its own to pull back within one, junior Audrey Latendresse drained what proved to be the game-winning three-point shot to clinch the Bonnies first conference win.
St. Bonaventure shot 48 percent (14-29) from the field on the day, their best shooting performance in over a month. The brown and white were also 7-16 from long range and 13-14 from the free throw line.
The Minutewomen started the game on a 7-0 run, but the Bonnies responded with a pair of buckets from Latendresse and a jumper from Murray during a 6-0 spurt that made the score 7-6 with 14:43 remaining.
The two teams traded baskets over the next 10 minutes with the St. Bonaventure outscoring UMass 19-18, knotting the score at 25.
Highlighted by a three-pointer by senior Stefanie Collins as time expired, the Bonnies closed the half on a 13-2 run to take a 38-27 advantage at the half. During the run, St. Bonaventure sank 5 of its 6 free throw attempts and committed no turnovers.
Latendresse and Murray combined to score 24 of the Bonnies season-high 38 first half points. The brown and white shot 48 percent (14-29) from the field in the half, while Massachusetts connected on 37 percent (10-27) of its shots.
The St. Bonaventure lead ballooned to 14 early in the second half as Murray sank a three-pointer to make the score 49-35 with 12:35 left.
UMass refused give up as it responded to the Bonnies largest lead of the game with a 20-9 run that last over 11 minutes and set the stage for the dramatic ending.
"We played hard for an entire game," said head coach Jim Crowley. "We did a good job of responding to their urgency in the second half and I'm really proud of our kids."
Four players reached double figures for St. Bonaventure, led by Latendresse's team-high 18 points and nine rebounds. Murray finished with a season-high 17 points on 6-10 shooting from the field, while sophomore Priscilla Edwards and Collins tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively. Edwards also finished with a career-high six assists. Redshirt freshman Ashley Edwards turned in an all-around effort, recording six points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Tamara Tatham led Massachusetts with 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Bonnies as they improve to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in conference action. With the loss, UMass falls to 3-11 on the season and 0-3 in the A-10.
St. Bonaventure will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. for a pair of A-10 games next weekend. The Bonnies will take on La Salle on Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. and the nationally ranked Temple Owls on Sunday.
