A-10 Championship: Bonnies survive with first-round win over Saint Louis
Ryan Papaserge
Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: Women's Basketball
The seventh-seeded women's basketball team held off a second-half Saint Louis rally to defeat the No. 10 Billikens 71-59 in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship Friday at Upper Marlboro, Md.'s Show Place Arena.
The Brown and White will now face No. 2 Dayton in the quarterfinal round tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
Coach Jim Crowley remarked that his team's performance went as expected.
"We knew it would be a very physical game and an intense contest," Crowley said. "We played Rhode Island last week and they were in a situation where their season depended on the game, and we knew Saint Louis would be similar to that.
"This time of year, it's about 'survive-and-advance,' and that's what we did today."
After holding a 32-24 halftime advantage, the Bonnies allowed the Billikens to start the second half on a 14-5 run, propelled by center Jessica Kemezys' eight points. A jumper by forward Lauren Woods gave Saint Louis a 40-39 advantage with 13:29 remaining.
Following a foul by senior forward Andrea Doneth, guard Katie Paganelli made all three free throws to give Saint Louis a 52-49 lead with 9:50 remaining.
Crowley responded by calling a 30-second timeout in which he offered his opinion of the Brown and White's performance to its players.
"This season, at times, we've gotten to where we doubt ourselves," Crowley said. "I didn't want to see that again."
Sophomore forward Megan Van Tatenhove noted that Crowley's words motivated her for the duration of the contest.
"We realized that there was a lot of time left on the clock," Van Tatenhove said. "It was all about reaction."
The Bonnies would end the game on a 22-7 run, spearheaded by Van Tatenhove's 14 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Senior forward Cara Gustafson completed one of two free throws to give the Brown and White a 54-53 advantage with 7:41 left. Van Tatenhove scored six points in the following 3:22, giving the Bonnies a ten-point advantage, 65-55, with 4:19 remaining.
Megan Van Tatenhove led the Bonnies (22-8) with 18 points and seven rebounds, tallying 16 points in the second half. Jenkins added 17 points and senior forward Dana Mitchell recorded 16 points and six rebounds in the victory.
Woods led the Billikens (11-19) with 19 points in defeat, while Kemezys added 17 points and Paganelli recorded 10 points and seven rebounds.
In the lone regular season meeting between the two teams, the Flyers defeated the Bonnies 76-65 Jan.16, the widest margin of defeat for the Brown and White this season.
Crowley noted that having less than 24 hours to prepare for tomorrow's game in not an ideal situation.
"Dayton's a great, great team," Crowley said. "We know what we're going to do. They certainly know what they're going to do. (There's) not a lot of time to overly prepare."
The Brown and White will now face No. 2 Dayton in the quarterfinal round tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
Coach Jim Crowley remarked that his team's performance went as expected.
"We knew it would be a very physical game and an intense contest," Crowley said. "We played Rhode Island last week and they were in a situation where their season depended on the game, and we knew Saint Louis would be similar to that.
"This time of year, it's about 'survive-and-advance,' and that's what we did today."
After holding a 32-24 halftime advantage, the Bonnies allowed the Billikens to start the second half on a 14-5 run, propelled by center Jessica Kemezys' eight points. A jumper by forward Lauren Woods gave Saint Louis a 40-39 advantage with 13:29 remaining.
Following a foul by senior forward Andrea Doneth, guard Katie Paganelli made all three free throws to give Saint Louis a 52-49 lead with 9:50 remaining.
Crowley responded by calling a 30-second timeout in which he offered his opinion of the Brown and White's performance to its players.
"This season, at times, we've gotten to where we doubt ourselves," Crowley said. "I didn't want to see that again."
Sophomore forward Megan Van Tatenhove noted that Crowley's words motivated her for the duration of the contest.
"We realized that there was a lot of time left on the clock," Van Tatenhove said. "It was all about reaction."
The Bonnies would end the game on a 22-7 run, spearheaded by Van Tatenhove's 14 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Senior forward Cara Gustafson completed one of two free throws to give the Brown and White a 54-53 advantage with 7:41 left. Van Tatenhove scored six points in the following 3:22, giving the Bonnies a ten-point advantage, 65-55, with 4:19 remaining.
Megan Van Tatenhove led the Bonnies (22-8) with 18 points and seven rebounds, tallying 16 points in the second half. Jenkins added 17 points and senior forward Dana Mitchell recorded 16 points and six rebounds in the victory.
Woods led the Billikens (11-19) with 19 points in defeat, while Kemezys added 17 points and Paganelli recorded 10 points and seven rebounds.
In the lone regular season meeting between the two teams, the Flyers defeated the Bonnies 76-65 Jan.16, the widest margin of defeat for the Brown and White this season.
Crowley noted that having less than 24 hours to prepare for tomorrow's game in not an ideal situation.
"Dayton's a great, great team," Crowley said. "We know what we're going to do. They certainly know what they're going to do. (There's) not a lot of time to overly prepare."
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