BUFFALO, N.Y. – A 15-1 run bridging the first and second halves by the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team (2-0) broke open a tie game and gave the Bonnies their 13th straight win over a Big 4 rival as they defeated Canisius (0-1) Monday evening, 74-58.
Senior Megan Van Tatenhove led a quartet of Bona double-figure scorers as she poured in a game-high 18. Sophomore Chelsea Bowker hit four 3-pointers en route to a 15-point night in just 17 minutes of action as the Bonnies defeated Canisius for the sixth consecutive time.
Senior Jessica Jenkins finished with a 14-point performance, powered by a 3-of-6 showing from 3-point range. In the process, the Marion, Ohio product moved within 16 points of becoming the 19th member of the 1,000 Point Club.
Sophomore CeCe Dixon tied a career high by hitting two 3-pointers and set a career high with 12 points on the evening.
Bonaventure shot a blistering 50 percent from the field for the game, including a 56-percent clip in the second half.
Trailing 17-14 at the 12:15 mark of the first half, the Bonnies rattled off a 9-0 run to take a 23-17 advantage before extending it even further and taking a 35-26 lead into the halftime break. Senior Jennie Ashton received an entry pass from junior Jordan McGee to give Bonaventure an 18-17 lead, and it didn’t trail the rest of the night.
The Bonnies have now not lost to a Big 4 rival since Nov. 14, 2006 when Niagara defeated the Brown and White, 71-64, at the Gallagher Center.
Canisius was led offensively by Jamie Ruttle as she tallied 17. Ashley Wilkes contributed 13 and Jen Morabito added 12.
Sophomore Alaina Walker pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go along with her six points. The Bonnies out-rebounded the Griffs, 33-29.
After turning the ball over six times in the first eight minutes of the game, St. Bonaventure gave it away just seven times the rest of the night as for the second straight game they committed fewer turnovers than their opposition.
St. Bonavetnure will look to take down its second BIG EAST foe of the year as it travels to Morgantown to face West Virginia on Friday evening at 7.
GAME NOTES: This is the second of four straight rematches to start the year for Bona’s … it avenged a loss to St. John’s in the opener, and will be looking to do the same at West Virginia Friday night … sophomore Ashley Zahn played six minutes in her first appearance of the young season … Jenkins has now started 68 straight games and Van Tatenhove has made 51 consecutive starts … Ashton finished with a career-high three assists … Bona shot 11-12 (91.7 percent) from the free throw line … the two teams combined for 16 made 3-pointers – nine by the Bonnies and seven by the Griffs.
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