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Women's Basketball
Bona comeback effort falls short on Youth Day
Feb. 3, 2006
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - After trailing for the entire second half, St. Bonaventure's late comeback effort slipped through their fingers as Duquesne edged out the Bonnies, 53-48, Friday afternoon in front of 1,620 area students on Youth Day at the Reilly Center. After a Katelyn Murray three-pointer with 54 ticks left notched the score at 48, Duquesne responded with a three of its own from Kristi Little on the ensuing possession. With 29 seconds remaining the Bonnies had a chance to tie the game and force overtime when sophomore Priscilla Edwards found the hot-hand Murray whose shot rimmed out. The 5-7 Edwards snatched the offensive board and kicked it out to Murray for a second try, but once again her shot came up short. Edwards then grabbed her second offensive rebound of the possession and tipped it out into the direction of Stefanie Collins. The ball skimmed off of the senior's hands, turning the ball over to the Dukes. Duquesne's Carmen Bruce calmly sank two free-throws to seal the game for the Dukes. Duquesne enjoyed a four-point advantage, 48-44, with 1:54 remaining in the game. Great man-to-man defense forced the Dukes into a turnover on their next possession. After Priscilla Edwards sank the first free throw, junior Audrey Latendresse's grabbed the offensive rebound off the second attempt and found Murray alone on the wing for the game-tying three. The first half was hotly contested, as the Bonnies and Dukes swapped the lead six times. Duquesne picked up its largest lead of the half with 41 seconds left when they made it 22-18. On the ensuing Bona possession Murray drained her second three-pointer of the half to close the gap to one, 22-21. Duquesne responded with a lay-up by Loui Hall as time expired giving the Dukes a three-point advantage heading into the break.
Duquesne began the second half quickly expanding their halftime lead to seven points over the first five minutes. Ashley Edwards' two free-throws were the first points of the half for St. Bonaventure narrowing the visitor's lead to 28-23. After her second made free-throw, full court pressure caused a Duke turnover and Priscilla Edwards' basket brought the score to 28-25. Over the next four minutes, Duquesne went on a 6-2 run before senior Stefanie Collins' three-pointer at the 9:45 mark made it 34-30. St. Bonaventure's defense forced another Duke turnover on the following possession and Maripier Malo's lay-up brought the home team within two, 34-32. Duquesne's Kristi Little's four-straight free-throws extended the visitor's cushion to six. Ashley Edwards' strong defensive effort propelled the Bonnies, as she stripped Aiga Bautre and took the ball the length of the floor to make the score 40-36. The lead remained at four until Ashley Edwards sunk two free-throws tightening the lead to just two with 3:46 remaining. After trading buckets on each of the team's ensuing possessions, Duquesne rebuilt its lead to four, 48-44, off a Carmen Bruce jumper with 2:14 left. Both teams struggled on the offensive end, as Duquesne managed a mere 38 percent from the floor (20-52) and St. Bonaventure 36 percent (18-50). St. Bonaventure's 23 turnovers also proved to be costly. The Bonnies did enjoy a rebounding advantage over the Dukes, 39-29. Ashley Edwards and Murray led the way for St. Bonaventure with each netting a game-high 13 points. Edwards also grabbed a game-high nine boards and three steals. Reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Loui Hall guided Duquesne with 12 points. The loss brings the Bonnies' record to 8-12 overall and 2-7 in the A-10. Duquesne improves 9-12 and 4-6 in conference play. St. Bonaventure will play the first of five conference road games in the month of February beginning with Dayton on Sunday. Game time is slated for 2 p.m. |
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