Bona notebook
Big crowd sets record, energizes Bonnies
OLEAN—Jim Crowley was sitting on the bench during pregame warm-ups as usual.
Only this time as he looked up into the stands he saw a steady stream of fans coming into the Reilly Center.
St. Bonaventure set a school women’s basketball record for attendance with its official 2,123 count for the 68-63 win over West Virginia in the second round of the WNIT Saturday afternoon. But with an estimated 500 people filtering in later, the actual crowd that witnessed the game was more than 2,500.
It sure felt like a lot of fans. The energy was unlike any at Big 4 women’s basketball in recent history.
“It was amazing. There’s no other word,” senior guard Katelyn Murray said. “It was like a sixth man out there for us. It’s the atmosphere you see at men’s games and to have it here is remarkable. We thank everyone for coming out because they played a huge part in this game.”
“I think back to [Priscilla Edwards] and Ashley [Edwards’] freshman years when we played Temple at home and they were ranked No. 13 in the country,” Crowley said. “I think we had 250 people here and we almost beat them. I was sitting out before the game and just seeing where the program has come from and what these kids have done to get us there.
“I hope people realize not just [the] quality of play we have but the quality of people
and how hard these kids play. They love playing together and for St. Bonaventure and they’re going to keep on doing it whether people come out to watch or not.”
•••
The win marked only the fourth time the Bonnies have beaten a Big East school and the first since Dec. 18, 2003 when they defeated Marquette, 69-65, in the Reilly Center.
•••
Junior Dana Mitchell scored 18 points to move to fifth place in Bona’s all-time scoring list with 1,437 career points. She now has 29 double-figure scoring games this season and 80 in her career.
•••
The win came with overcoming some new adversity. The 42 points scored by West Virginia were the most by an opponent this season while the 14-point halftime deficit was the largest the Bonnies have faced all season. It was just the third time they’ve trailed at the half at home this season.
•••
Redshirt freshman Armelia Horton tied her career high with nine rebounds and tied her season high with 13 points off the bench.
•••
The Bonnies will play the winner of today’s match up between Wisconsin and Kentucky. The game date, time and location will be announced by the WNIT later tonight. St. Bonaventure has never played either school.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments