Bonnies named to WBCA Academic Top 25
July 14, 2009
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - After a program record 23-win season that featured a run to the WNIT quarterfinals, the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team learned that it also succeeded off the court by producing the 16th-best team grade-point average in 2008-09, according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll.
The Bonnies team GPA of 3.35 put them in a tie for 16th place with Cornell University, marking the fourth straight year and the sixth time in the past seven seasons the Brown and White have worked their way into the WBCA Top 25 academic poll.
"This honor reinforces what a special group of student-athletes we have in our program," said head coach Jim Crowley, who was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2009. "They are truly dedicated to being successful in the classroom and on the court and are great representatives of our program and St. Bonaventure."
The Bonnies are the only school from the Atlantic 10 to qualify for the honor and just one of eight teams to make the postseason in 2008-09 and make the top 25 academically.
Eight members of the 2008-09 squad earned a spot on the fall of 2008 or spring of 2009 A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes with a 3.5 GPA or higher for the given semester. Leading the way was senior Katelyn Murray who earned Academic All-America honors from ESPN The Magazine for the second straight season, while completing her collegiate career with a perfect 4.0 GPA as a biology major.
St. Bonaventure has consistently ranked among the top 25 academic teams in the nation since the 2002-03 campaign in which the Brown and White entered the rankings at #24. The team's highest academic ranking came in 2006-07 when it finished #3.
Fresh off a record-setting season that featured a program record 23 wins, a fourth place finish in the A-10 and a postseason run to the quarterfinal round of the WNIT, Crowley and the Bonnies will return nine players from last year's team, including three-time All-Conference honoree Dana Mitchell who will enter her season with 1,463 career points. The Brown and White will also usher in a highly-touted freshmen class, while also welcoming back redshirt senior point guard Tiara Johnson, who missed all of last season due to injury.
2008-09 WBCA Academic Top 25
1. Indiana State University - 3.645
2. University of North Dakota - 3.580
3. South Dakota State University - 3.571
4. Montana State University-Bozeman - 3.501
5. Bowling Green University - 3.470
6. University of Northern Iowa - 3.437
7. Manhattan College - 3.432
8. Western Carolina University - 3.428
9. Eastern Washington University - 3.422
10. University of New Mexico - 3.414
11. DePaul University - 3.402
12. Utah Valley University - 3.390
13. Kansas State University - 3.374
14. Wichita State University - 3.361
15. Lehigh University - 3.356
T-16. St. Bonaventure University - 3.353
T-16. Cornell University - 3.353
18. Villanova University - 3.346
19. University of Evansville - 3.336
20. Oakland University - 3.323
T-21. Charleston Southern University - 3.320
T-21. Columbia University - 3.320
23. University of Wisconsin, Green Bay - 3.317
24. University of South Dakota - 3.311
25. University of Hartford - 3.308
