The St. Bonaventure’s girls’s basketball program is coming off a 17-16 (7-11 Atlantic 10) season that culminated in internet hosting and successful a WNIT recreation. Led by head coach Jim Crowley, who’s coming into the fourth season of his second stint at St. Bonaventure, the Bonnies wish to proceed to compete this upcoming season.
St. Bonaventure retained 10 gamers from final season’s roster. Nonetheless, two of its main scorers in Aaliyah Parker and Laycee Drake, are now not on the roster. Crowley and his employees added transfers Kyla Hayes (St. John’s), Jordyn Williams (Niagara) and Kay Donahue (Lafayette). Whereas it’ll be robust to switch the scoring of Parker and Drake, retaining 10 gamers is essential for a powerful, aggressive Atlantic 10.
“I feel they’ll be totally different,” Crowley stated. “We had been very basketball expertise heavy final yr with Drake and Parker. Quite a few folks performed collectively. Even a few of our transfers have performed with a few of our children by way of AAU and various things, so I feel that familiarity suits nicely with how we wish to play.”
Parker, nonetheless, remains to be concerned with this system and joined the employees as an assistant coach. She performed three years at Niagara earlier than transferring to St. Bonaventure for the 2024-2025 season. Nonetheless, an damage saved her out of motion for all the yr. Within the 2025-2026 season, she averaged 12.6 factors, 5.8 rebounds and a couple of.2 steals and was a significant contributor within the group’s WNIT run. After spending two years in this system, Parker is a giant add for the teaching employees.
“She’s only a nice human being, actually educated, nice work ethic,” Crowley stated. “It was form of a no brainer for us to maintain her round and get her on employees.”
Crowley is likely one of the most achieved coaches in St. Bonaventure historical past, main this system to 2 NCAA Event appearances and a magical Candy 16 run in 2012 throughout his first stint. Crowley is massive on stressing believing you are able to do it and having the self-discipline to play nicely, which is one thing he continually instills in his gamers. Coming again to assist rebuild this program is necessary to Crowley.
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“Clearly we nonetheless have extra to do as a result of consistency is form of the important thing to rebuilding,” Crowley stated. “This program means a ton to me. I imply, this college gave me my likelihood and caught with me. I additionally simply actually imagine within the mission and the best way they deal with folks right here. I met my spouse within the (Reilly Heart).”
Loads has modified in between his St. Bonaventure tenures, although, together with the installment of NIL. St. Bonaventure, technically its personal city sandwiched between Olean and Allegany, N.Y., is at a drawback in terms of NIL funding. Wanting across the Atlantic 10, faculties in larger cities and cities like St. Louis and Dayton sometimes don’t have as robust of a time.
As a substitute of worrying, complaining and feeling defeated, Crowley is eager on discovering a method by way of it. That comes within the type of taking part in collectively and trusting each other on and off the courtroom.
“Possibly they’ve extra NIL or no matter it could be,” Crowley stated. “However we nonetheless bought who we’re and we expect that’s a reasonably particular factor. And we’re going to lean all the best way into that and be the very best model of us.”
St. Bonaventure hosted an exhilarating WNIT recreation in March, defeating Drexel 69-67 in extra time after a final second shot from Parker. Greater than 850 followers piled into the Reilly Heart to help, almost doubling their common attendance through the common season.
This previous season noticed nice enchancment for this system, as its 17 wins is greater than the three earlier seasons mixed (16). The postseason berth wasn’t solely a giant win for this system, it was huge for St. Bonaventure’s athletics as an entire. This came about within the midst of the controversial retirement of longtime males’s basketball head coach Mark Schmidt, so internet hosting and successful a WNIT recreation was a significant constructive in a a lot wanted time.
“With the yr we had and the place we had been the previous few years, an opportunity to play within the postseason, we thought can be a extremely good motivator for our group, after which we thought we earned it,” Crowley stated. “And plus, I simply thought it was a extremely good time. There was some issues happening in athletics that we simply felt we wanted one thing good, and I felt our followers wanted one thing to cheer for.”
St. Bonaventure is seeking to construct upon the large step taken final season. Crowley expressed how good of a bunch he has and the way everyone seems to be purchased into the St. Bonaventure tradition. They imagine in one another, in themselves and have the self-discipline to probably have yet one more profitable season. The Bonnies tip off their season Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. towards D’Youville.
