Courtesy of gobonnies.com
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Jordan McGee nailed a jump shot with 5.2 seconds remaining to provide the winning points for St. Bonaventure in its 63-62 exhibition victory over Division II Edinboro on Saturday afternoon at the Reilly Center.
Trailing by three at the final media timeout the Bonnies would get a 3-pointer from from CeCe Dixon and a lay-in from Doris Ortega to knot the score at 59.
With 1:30 to play, Kiara Brown launched a very high arching three from the top of the key that would bank home giving the Fighting Scots a 62-59 lead.
Dixon would corral a rebound and push the ball up the floor looking to Ashley Zahn to attempt a game-tying three ball. The Edinboro defense effectively took that away and Zahn drove and drew the foul instead. She would sink both free throws, cutting the lead to just one.
Edinboro took the clock down to 22 seconds before launching an air-ball that was snagged out the air by Jordan McGee who re-entered prior to Zahn’s free throws.
McGee gave the ball off to Dixon to set up the final play. Head coach Jim Crowley opted not to take a timeout to set up a final play. Dixon drove with 10 seconds left and layed the ball off to a curling McGee who knocked down the 15-footer to give the Bonnies the lead.
The ensuing inbounds play turned into a series of tipped passes and a desperation heave that went astray. The Bonnies had hung to claim the dramatic victory.
Edinboro, which is ranked sixth in the Division II USA Today Coaches Poll, led by as much 10, including a 33-29 halftime advantage. The Fighting Scots held the Bonnies to just 32.3 percent shooting in the first half as well.
Doris Ortega paced the offense for the Bonnies tossing in 20 points and snagging eight rebounds to go with three steals in 36 minutes. Dixon score 18 points and grabbed five rebounds. Alaina Walker scored 10 points and collected nine boards. The five starters for the Bonnies averaged 31.6 minutes while the bench that consisted of five freshmen today averaged just 8.4 minutes. Tonight’s miss big shot Jordan McGee scored just four points but it was the last two that mattered most.
For Edinboro, Samantha Blazetic led the way scoring 18 points and bringing in seven rebounds. Kiara Brown added 17 points while Darche Jackson tossed in 15. Edinboro forced the Bonnies into 19 turnovers last season with their full court pressure. This year SBU limited the damage to just 11 turnovers.
St. Bonaventure will officially tip off the 2012-13 campaign next weekend (Nov. 10) when they welcome the Binghamton Bearcats to the Reilly Center. That game is set to start at 1:00 p.m.
GAME NOTES: This was the third consecutive season opening exhibition the Bonnies have played against Edinboro… St. Bonaventure won last years matchup 75-65… The two teams combined for just five points off of the bench… St. Bonaventure flipped the script and outscored Edinboro in the second half 34-29… Recent women’s basketball alums, Amanda Johnson, Armelia Horton and Jennie Ashton were in attendance.
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