|
Women's Basketball
Atlantic 10 announces Women's Basketball conference slate
Sept. 10, 2008
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The 2008-09 St. Bonaventure women's basketball schedule is now complete following Wednesday evening's Atlantic 10 announcement of the conference portion of the calendar. Five teams from the A-10 advanced to postseason play in 2008 with a trio of the clubs scheduled to visit Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center beginning in January. St. Bonaventure will meet each squad in the 14-team league once with the exception of a pair of meetings in a home-and-away series with travel partner Duquesne. Following two road contests to conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Bonnies begin A-10 action with consecutive home games against La Salle (January 10) and Massachusetts (January 17) on back-to-back Saturdays. The two-game home stand to open league play is the club's only stretch of two straight games on Bob Lanier Court during the conference slate. The St. Bonaventure-La Salle encounter is one of four A-10 games on opening night. St. Bonaventure returns to the road on Tuesday, January 20 with a second trip to Richmond in the last three seasons. In their last visit to the Robins Center during the 2006-07 campaign, the Brown and White squeaked out a 72-69 overtime victory. After making the midweek trip to take on the Spiders, 2008 A-10 regular season co-champion Temple visits the Reilly Center four days later under the direction of first-year head coach Tonya Cardoza. Tip-time for the Saturday, January 24 matinee match-up is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The Bonnies close out January with the club's first of two meetings against Duquesne beginning on Wednesday, January 28. Following 10 straight losses to the Dukes, Bona captured a sweep of the season series last year with a pair of victories by a combined four points. The month of February begins with a pair of match-ups against 2008 postseason participants Xavier (NCAA) and Dayton (WNIT). Following its trip to Pittsburgh, St. Bonaventure remains on the road for a tilt at the Cintas Center against two-time defending A-10 Tournament Champ Xavier on Sunday, February 1. The Musketeers return all five starters from last season's 27-7 club, including the A-10's last two Rookie of the Year recipients Ta'Shia Phillips and Amber Harris.
Bona returns home three days later for a clash with Dayton (February 4) following the Flyers' record-setting 25-win campaign of a year ago. A home meeting with Rhode Island (February 11) is sandwiched in between a pair of road contests at Saint Joseph's (February 8) and Fordham (February 14). Despite renovations to Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, the Hawks will host St. Bonaventure in the Gallagher Center on the campus of Philadelphia University. Rhode Island again proved to be a nemesis for the Brown and White in 2007-08 as the Rams notched a pair of victories over the Bonnies and ended the club's season in the first round of the A-10 Championship. Duquesne returns a visit from the Bonnies with a battle on Bob Lanier Court on Wednesday, February 18 before Bona hits the road for consecutive contests at George Washington (February 21) and Saint Louis (February 25). First-year head coach Mike Bozeman takes over the Colonials after serving as an assistant under Joe McKeown for three seasons. He was on the GW bench last season during the Bonnies' historic 63-60 upset over the Colonials for the program's second ever victory over a nationally ranked opponent. After making their first appearance in the Billiken's brand new Chaifez Arena, the Brown and White close the season at home against Charlotte for a senior day celebration on Saturday, February 28. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top 12 teams in conference standings will advance to the A-10 Championship. Hosted by Charlotte at Halton Arena, the tournament will take place March 6-9. |
|
