Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: AIDAN SHINNERS; SPORTS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Binghamton University 67-56.
The Bonnies (2-1) were without starting forward, senior Brillana Boyd and turned to fellow senior Kylie Buckley to take over the starting forward role.
The Bearcats (3-2) were led by senior guard Bella Pucci’s 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Kyla Hayes led Bonaventure in points, tying her career high at 16, and also recorded four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Binghamton got ahead early, taking an 8-0 lead at the first quarter media timeout. That lead grew the rest of the quarter, and a Pucci buzzer-beater set the Bearcats up 19-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bonnies started the second quarter on a 15-3 run thanks to eight points from freshman forward Ella Trinkaus and five from sophomore Ivona Djikanovic. The Bearcats led at the half 35-26.
After a back-and-forth third quarter, Bonaventure entered the final frame down 46-36.
Binghamton opened the fourth quarter with seven consecutive points. At the five-minute mark in the fourth, Hayes converted and and-one to bring the Bonnies back within 11, before she was called for a technical foul on the basket.
The Bonnies went on to lose the game by 11 points.
Bonaventure struggled to get the offense going and only shot 35% from the field.
Trinkaus was the only bench player to record any points for Bonaventure, scoring 12, as well as tallying six rebounds, a block and a steal.
In her first start of the season, Buckley scored four points and grabbed three rebounds.
The Bonnies head to Alumni Arena, to take on University at Buffalo on Nov. 19. Tipoff is set for 6p.m. with coverage of the Western New York matchup available on ESPN+ and the Bonnies Online Network.
