By Taylor Nigrelli
ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — During St. Bonaventure’s surprisingly successful 2013-14 season, much has been made of the on-and-off court chemistry of the team’s star sophomore forward duo of Katie Healy and Hannah Little.
In multiple press conferences Coach Jim Crowley has joked about the similarities between the two, on separate occasions saying they “have the same brain” and “are inseparable.”
Spending enough time around the team, you can begin to see what Crowley’s talking about. Little and Healy are always together during warm ups. They can be seen together after the game and around campus during the week. Perhaps most importantly, they’re always talking on the court too.
“We read each other well, I think,” Healy said. “We know how to play together, I guess you could say. We know when each other’s going to cut. I know when I miss a shot, Hannah’s right there for the offensive rebound.”
Healy and Little played off each other excellently Friday as the two rewrote the SBU postseason record book in St. Bonaventure’s 81-62 win over Charlotte in the first round of the WNIT. Healy scored a career-high 28 points to best Dana Mitchell’s old postseason-high of 27. Meanwhile, Little became the first player in St. Bonaventure women’s history to surpass 300 rebounds in a season as she grabbed an SBU postseason record 15 boards.
All in all, Little and Healy finished with a combined 48 points, 27 rebounds and eight assists. The two accounted for more than half of the team’s scoring and rebounding outputs while helping the Bonnies advance to the second round of the WNIT just a year after finishing 10-19. The Bonnies will travel to face Bowling Green in the next round Monday night.
The two were noticeably the best players on the court in St. Bonaventure’s first home postseason win more than three years.
Although the final score might mislead one into thinking the game was never in question, it certainly was. And Healy was the biggest factor in ensuring the Bonnies were able to play on to the next round.
After the team took a 16-6 lead early in the game, the offense screeched to a halt. That is, except for Healy’s production. The Lancaster, NY native scored the team’s only four field goals during a 16:01 chunk of game time.
During that time, the Bonnies saw their 10-point lead shrink into a three-point deficit. When it seemed to everyone the game was slipping away, Healy wouldn’t allow it to. She wouldn’t let her first taste of college postseason action be a home choke job.
Meanwhle Little, who finished the first half with just four points, three boards and five turnovers came out as a different player in the second half.
Both fought for ever loose ball, got physical under the rim and didn’t shy away from contact when driving. This aggressiveness netted the pair nine offensive rebounds and 21 foul shots, which turned into 16 points for the Bonnies.
While the two may be quite similar in personality, they have two very different skill sets with the common trait of confident aggressiveness.
Little is quick, athletic and long. She’s can drive, post-up and gobbles up nearly every rebound in sight.
Healy is lanky, feisty and sure-handed. She’s not as athletic as Little but she possess excellent foot-work and has an array of post moves that would make the casual observer doubt she’s a college sophomore.
Together, the two create a nightmare matchup for nearly any opponent’s frontcourt.
Jessica Jenkins and Megan Van Tatenhove may be remembered as the duo that led the women’s basketball program out of the dark ages and into the NCAA Tournament.
But St. Bonaventure fans will undoubtedly speak of Little and Healy with a similar reverence in the future.
The two have already established themselves as two of the best players in St. Bonaventure women’s history.
Now, they have this year’s postseason plus two additional seasons to given Van Tatenhove and Jenkins’ success a run for its money.
Leave a Reply