The women’s basketball team (6–0) submitted another stellar defensive performance and shut down St. Lawrence University (2–2) by a score of 67-49 yesterday in Ben Light Gymnasium. With the victory, the Bombers equalled the program’s best start to a season in 14 years.
The Blue and Gold pulled away early and limited the Saints’ offense to just six baskets on 25 attempts in the first half. The South Hill squad shot a scorching 58.3 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes and took a runaway 40-16 lead into the break.
Junior forward Devin Shea and sophomore forward Jennifer Escobido were dominant in the low posts, finding each other often with extra passes. The two forwards each scored 12 points for the Bombers.
Senior guard Jessica Farley propelled the offense in the back court with six assists, and also snatched five steals and four rebounds.
Freshman guard Samantha Klie had a breakout performance off the bench, scoring 10 points in just 16 minutes of action. The Bombers’ bench contributed 27 points overall.
Freshman guard Ally Mnich said the bench players’ effort reflected the depth of this year’s squad.
“We have a saying that it’s 1-13, and you can’t win a game with just five players,” Mnich said. “We’re all working hard so we can give the starting girls a rest.”
Shea, who recorded five blocks for the Bombers, said the team came out with a clear plan of who they needed to contain.
“We knew that they had one really good shooter in [senior guard Casey] Cappello and that [sophomore forward] Kelly Legg was a big offensive threat,” Shea said. “Our help defense had to be there as well as our transition defense. We had to communicate, and I would say we nailed that at least 98 percent of the time.”
Escobido said the Bombers’ terrific start is on par with the team’s expectations.
“I definitely think we all anticipated to be right here because our chemistry is unreal,” Escobido said. “When you have a team where anyone can score and we all want to give each other points, it just means everything is working out.”
The South Hill squad will tip off against University of Rochester, the fourth-best team in the nation, in their next game slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday in Ben Light Gymnasium.
