Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: AIDAN SHINNERS; STAFF WRITER
On Feb. 4, the St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball team ended its five-game losing streak, defeating Davidson University 59-50. In that game, senior forward Gabby Robinson left with an injury.
Bonnies Head Coach Jim Crowley described the injury as an ankle sprain.
“It was a good ankle sprain,” Crowley said. “Those are obviously challenging to come back from.”
Prior to leaving the game, Robinson set seasonal bests scoring eight points on 80% shooting while recording seven rebounds. Crowley said that it is still important for Robinson to contribute as an off-court leader even while she can’t play.
“If someone can’t play, they have to have energy on the bench,” Crowley said. “Her involvement has to be impactful to her teammates, and we’re confident they will be on the floor and off.”
As for who would be replacing Robinson moving forward, Coach Crowley said to look for junior forwards Kylie Buckley and Brillana Boyd as well as freshman forward Brianna Barr-Buday. Crowley expressed confidence in Buckley to take over the starting role after scoring 8 points following the Robinson injury against Davidson.
“Obviously, Kylie [Buckley] had a great game,” said Crowley. “We’re going to need more from Brianna Barr-Buday and Brillana Boyd.”
Barr-Buday answered the call on Feb. 7 in Bonaventure’s overtime win over Duquesne University. In 17 minutes, the freshman scored a team-high 15 points shooting over 50%. Buckley made her first start of the season, scoring 13 points, also grabbing four rebounds in the contest.
Thanks to a game-winner from graduate guard Lacey Drake in the final seconds of overtime against the Dukes, the Bonnies have bounced back from their five-game losing streak, winning back-to-back games to improve their record to 14-11 (5-8 A-10). Over the last seven games, only one finished with a deficit of double-digits. Coach Crowley said the key to breaking the losing streak was to get a more comfortable lead to end their games.
“[It’s important to] build a cushion and being able to have a little more comfort in ourselves,” said Crowley. “When [our opponent] makes a push at the end, we want enough room to handle that.”
Crowley said it is important to stay in the moment, regardless of if the team is on a winning or losing streak.
“One of the things I try to do, whether it’s a winning streak or a losing streak is staying in the moment, stay in what’s in front of me,” Crowley said. “It’s important to stay in the moment and not think about the last game, just learn from it.”
The Bonnies travel to Virginia Commonwealth University to take on the Rams on Feb. 14. The game will tipoff at 1p.m. with coverage on ESPN+ and the Bonnies Online Network.
