KENT, Ohio – CeCe Dixon scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the second half to lead a quartet of St. Bonaventure double-figure scorers as the Bonnies (5-1) went on a late run to hold off a feisty Kent State squad (1-5) Wednesday evening, 60-51, to remain perfect on the road.
Trailing 45-44 with 8:33 left, the Bonnies went on a game-changing 12-0 run over four-and-a-half minutes to open up a 56-45 advantage that they wouldn’t relinquish. The run started with a Jessica Jenkins‘ lay-in and closed with a pair of free throws from senior Megan Van Tatenhove.
Dixon, starting in place of injured senior Armelia Horton, scored eight of Bona’s first 12 second-half points to keep the Bonnies in the contest. Van Tatenhove finished with 13 points, sophomore Chelsea Bowker scored 11 of her 12 in the first half and senior Jenkins didn’t hit a 3-pointer but still finished with 10 points to round out the Bona double-figure scoring.
The win was the fourth road triumph for the Bonnies already this year, setting a program record for most road victories in the month of November. Additionally, it is just the second time they have started a campaign 4-0 away from the Reilly Center since joining the Division I ranks prior to the 1986-87 season.
Tricia Krewson led the Golden Flashes at the offensive end as she tallied 14 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds as part of a 31-28 Kent State rebounding edge. Jamie Hutcheson added 13 points and Diamon Beckford contributed 10 points.
Kent State jumped out to a 14-4 lead to begin the game, but the Bonnies were able to chip away and took their first lead, 22-21, at the 7:24 mark of the opening half on a Jenkins’ floater in the lane. Despite turning the ball over 10 times in the opening frame, Bonaventure held a 31-28 lead at halftime.
St. Bonaventure entered the contest committing just 11.8 turnovers per game, third best in the entire nation, but those 10 first-half giveaways resulted in 11 KSU points.
The Bonnies will look to keep their perfect road record intact when they travel to Binghamton to face the Bearcats on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
GAME NOTES: The game was a homecoming for Bowker and Jenkins as Bowker hails from Salem, Ohio (1-hour drive to Kent) and Jenkins is a native of Marion, Ohio (2-hour drive) … Jenkins (1,034 career points) moved into 17th place on the school’s all-time scoring list, passing 1981 graduate Kathy Lynch … the win evened the all-time series with Kent State as each school has now won 10 contests, including three straight for the Bonnies … the only other Bona team to start 4-0 on the road was the 2009-10 club … Bonaventure is now 4-0 in rematches from last year as it has defeated St. John’s, West Virginia, Morgan State and Kent State.
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