Middle Tennessee women’s basketball (16-15, 11-7 CUSA) is set for the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament against St. Bonaventure University (17-15, 7-11 A10).
St. Bona defeated Drexel University in the first round in an overtime victory, 69-67. The WNIT appearance is the Bonnies first postseason since 2016.
Color commentator Carson Hayek and The Bona Venture’s sports assignment editor Sean Wallace gave insight to the Bonnies’ program.
Head coach: Jim Crowley
Crowley is in his second stint at St. Bonaventure with his first between 2000-2016. In that 16-year span, the Windsor, New York, native took the Bonnies to new heights, reaching the NCAA’s Sweet 16 in 2012.
“I don’t think anything has changed,” Wallace said. “He’s still the same old Jim Crowley, super smart guy…He’s a huge reason to why they were able to make this turnaround and get to the second round of the WNIT.”
The 2011-2012 season saw St. Bonaventure go 31-4 and 14-0 in Atlantic 10 play. The Bonnies earned an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament, defeating Florida Gulf Coast University and Marist University.
Now, 14 years later, Crowley’s team is comprised of two returners from last year and 12 new players, six transfers and six freshmen.
Players to watch
Guard Laycee Drake
Drake, one of the six transfers, came into her last collegiate season and led the Bonnies so far, averaging 15 points per game.
At her previous two stops, University of Albany and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Drake’s best year was her sophomore campaign where she averaged nearly eight points, shooting 43%.
“It’s pretty evident that Laycee’s [Drake] the quarterback of the offense,” Hayek said. “She is by far, definitely, the biggest surprise in this team.”
Drake is shooting 43.9% from the field and 33% from the behind the arc. The leader’s go to move is, similar to MTSU’s Alayna Contreras, driving downhill to her spot for a pull up jumper.
“She has a signature jump shot, that’s actually really, really, clean and she has a lot of success with that,” Hayek said.
Guard Aaliyah Parker
Parker, another transfer graduate player, came from Niagara University where she scored over 1200 points and 286 steals.
“I want to say she is 4th or 5th among the NCAA active career steal leaders,” Hayek said. “She just been absolutely, she’s super aggressive on defense.”
So far the Cheektowaga, New York, native has stolen the ball 66 times, a team high, to help on the defensive end.
Offensively, Parker is one of the Bonnies post options, able to battle with the Lady Raiders’ Blair Baugus and Macie Phifer. The majority of her points have come inside the arc with 145 made field goals.
Guard Ivona Djikanovic
Djikanovic has played an assortment of games this season, after missing most of January and February due to an injury.
The freshman has played four games since coming back, seeing a steady increase in playing time, playing 26 minutes against Drexel.
“Since that point, she’s like one of the best defenders, moves really well for being six feet tall,” Hayek said.
Team Struggles – still need to fill this out
The Bonnies are not a team with a ton of size, but that pairs up with MTSU. The areas of struggles come on the glass and consistency on defense.
Within the Atlantic 10 Conference, St. Bona is middle of the pack with rebounding.
The Bonnies don’t have a ton of size and that cause a struggled in rebounding, Hayek said.
Defensively at times throughout the season, St. Bona has had lapses allowing teams to exploit weaknesses.
“The other night against Drexel because coach Crowley was talking about it, but he said ‘majority, I think they had 40 points from the paint and most of them were from layups,’” Hayek said.
Through the play-by-play, all points in the paint for Drexel were from driving layups with 18 of them coming in regulation.
Middle Tennessee and St. Bona are set to tip off Monday at 6:30 p.m. CDT for a spot in the WNIT Super 16 round.
To contact the sports editor, email [email protected].
Follow Sidelines on Facebook at Facebook.com/MTSUSidelines, on X @mtsusidelines and Instagram @mtsusidelines. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
