OLEAN, N.Y. – The eighth time proved to be the charm for the Edinboro women's basketball team against St. Bonaventure. The Fighting Scots rallied from a seven-point deficit late in the third quarter to record a 67-64 upset of the Division I Bonnies on Saturday at the Reilly Center. It was the first win for the Fighting Scots, who had lost to the Bonnies the last seven years.
Edinboro trailed by five points at 52-47 entering the fourth quarter.
Jontay Walton's three-point play pulled the Fighting Scots to within 52-50 early in the period, and started an 11-0 run for Edinboro.
Michelle Jahn drilled a 3-pointer to give Edinboro the lead for good at 53-52 with 7:33 remaining. It was Edinboro's first lead since the first four minutes of the game.
Following a St. Bonaventure miss, Walton made a three for a 56-52 lead, and a layup by
Ciara Rosten capped the run, giving the Fighting Scots a 58-52 advantage with 6:23 left in the game.
St. Bonaventure would pull to within two points on three occasions, but the Fighting Scots answered each time. Trailing by six at 66-60 with just under a minute remaining when Jahn made another three, St. Bonaventure used a three-point play by Jalisha Terry to cut the margin in half at 66-63 with 43 seconds left.
After an Edinboro miss, the Bonnies made it 66-64, as Mariah Ruff made the second of two free throws with six seconds remaining. Walton was fouled with three seconds left, and made one-of-two free throws for the final margin. Mckenna Maycock missed a 3-pointer right before the final buzzer.
Edinboro shot 31.1 percent for the game (23-of-74), including making just 9-of-39 3-point attempts, but the Scots held St. Bonaventure to just 34.0 percent (18-of-53). The Bonnies were 6-of-17 from beyond the 3-point arc. St. Bonaventure was 22-of-24 at the line while Edinboro made 12-of-21 at the charity stripe. The Bonnies held a 50-40 rebounding edge, but Edinboro forced 25 turnovers while committing just 15.
Rosten led all scorers with 20 points, pulling 10 rebounds for a double-double. The 6'2" senior made 7-of-11 field goals, including a 3-pointer, and was 5-of-9 from the line. She added three assists and three blocked shots. Walton added 18 points and four steals, while Jahn finished in double figures with 12 points, shooting 4-of-10 on 3-pointers.
St. Bonaventure featured four players in double digits. Terry came off the bench to finish with 18 points and six rebounds. Ruff and Danielle Migliore had 12 points apiece, and Emily Calabrese contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. Maycock led the Bonnies with 10 rebounds.
Edinboro will get the season underway on Saturday, November 11, playing in the Conference Crossover at Millersville. The Fighting Scots face 2017 national runner-up Virginia Union, ranked second in Division II to start the season, on Saturday, and play Virginia-Wise on Sunday.
