Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: SEAN WALLACE; SPORTS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball team opened the season 5-0, its best start since 2009.
They collected wins over Division II Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, Niagara University, Binghamton University, Canisius University and the University at Buffalo, posting an average scoring margin of 16.2 points.
Bonaventure ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 with 41.6 rebounds per game and stands second in the conference with a plus-11.6 rebounding margin.
Five Bonnies average at least 5.0 points per game: graduate guard Laycee Drake (17.8), graduate guard Aaliyah Parker (12), freshman guard Mallory Heise (6.4), freshman guard Ivona Djikanovic (6.4) and junior forward Brillana Boyd (6).
Parker was named this week’s CPL Student-Athlete of the Week. She averaged 15 points against Binghamton and Canisius.
“Having so many new players helps us because it means we all have a fresh start,” Mallory Heise, a sports studies major, said. “We all want to build relationships with each other and it’s easier with most of us being new to St. Bonaventure. We have bounced back after poor stretches during games and have come out stronger because of it. We are a very resilient team. Our goal is to build more consistency with our defense. It’s one of our best assets and the more we buy in, the more dangerous we will be.”
Before arriving at Bonaventure, Heise became Hilton High School’s all-time leading scorer with more than 2,000 career points and won All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year twice.
Freshman guard Ivona Djikanovic, a sports psychology major, commented, “By listening and trusting coach Crowley’s style of play, we have grown drastically as a team. Also, off the court, we have each other’s backs because we know we have something special. We get excited for one another, but when things aren’t going well, we pick each other up. That is why we believe we can really go far. We have a lot of trust in each other even if the season is just starting.”
Before joining Bonaventure, the Belgrade, Serbia, native played for the Serbian U-20 National Team and competed in the 2024 European Championships.
“There’s always going to be something to improve upon. Coach Crowley is doing an amazing job of noticing and adjusting the little things that really matter. He often tells us that we are not always going to look perfect, but communication, pace, coachability, and how we are as teammates are things we should never lack,” said Djikanovic.
Bonaventure hosts the University at Albany on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m. in the Reilly Center. The game will air on YES Network, ESPN+ and the Bonnies Online Network.
