AMHERST, Mass. – No. 25/RV St. Bonaventure (23-2, 10-0 Atlantic 10) set regular-season program records for consecutive victories, A-10 wins and road triumphs with a 69-54 decision over host Massachusetts (6-18, 1-8 A-10) Wednesday evening at the Mullins Center.
The Bonnies also tied the program record for most victories in a season as senior Megan Van Tatenhove and redshirt senior Armelia Horton led the club with 17 points each.
The win is Bonaventure’s 12th straight, breaking the record set by the 2009-10 squad. SBU’s fourth-straight win over UMass added to its nation-best 11-0 road mark as it remained one of only three unbeatens on the road in the country.
Despite battling a triangle-and-two defense much of the game on leading scorer Jessica Jenkins and Van Tatenhove, in addition to a box-and-one on Jenkins, the senior duo still combined to score 30 points.
Van Tatenhove collected her seventh career double-double as she corralled a game-high 10 boards. Horton’s 17 points are a season high as she finished just one rebound shy of her third career double-double.
The Brown and White raced out to a 7-0 lead, started by a Jenkins’ 3-pointer and capped by a Doris Ortega fadeaway jumper. The advantage blossomed to as large as 16, 30-14, following a pair of Van Tatenhove free throws with 3:48 left in the half, but the Minutewomen closed the frame on an 8-0 run to trail by just eight at the break.
After Jenkins hit a 3 to open the scoring in the second half, UMass stormed back by netting 13 of the game’s next 18 points to pull within three, 38-35. However, the Minutewomen could get no closer the rest of the night as Bona’s lead stretched to as large as 19 at one point in the second half.
The Bonnies were able to stave off the UMass comeback attempt due largely to their free-throw shooting as they shot 90 percent (17-19) from the stripe. Jenkins went 5-5 from the line as she is now a perfect 34-34 in A-10 games.
Jenkins hit two 3-pointers to move into a tie for 21st on the all-time NCAA Division I list with 316 in her career. Junior Chelsea Bowker added 11 points for the Bonnies, including a crucial eight in the first half, as she reached double-figure scoring for just the second time in conference play.
For the fifth time this year, Bonaventure didn’t allow its opponent to lead at all during the game. Three of those occasions have come in conference play (Temple, Saint Louis).
Shakia Robinson was the lone UMass player to reach double-figure scoring as she finished with 19 points and a team-best seven rebounds.
St. Bonaventure returns to action in a crucial conference matchup at Dayton on Saturday. The Flyers, who have already had their bye week, own an 8-1 A-10 record and were picked – along with Temple – to win the league title. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Game Notes: Van Tatenhove went 6-6 from the free-throw line, while Horton went 5-5 … SBU and UMass each shot 37 percent from the field … Bona committed just eight turnovers … No. 1 Baylor (8-0) and No. 9 Green Bay (8-0) are the lone other road unbeatens in the nation … head coach Jim Crowley‘s career record at Bonaventure is now over .500 for the first time in his 12-year tenure (177-176) … Bonaventure had a 45-31 rebounding advantage … junior Alaina Walker tallied five points before fouling out, sophomore CeCe Dixon added four and classmate Doris Ortega contributed two.
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