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Bonnies bounce back against Florida Gulf Coast

Mar 18, 2012 - 10:19 PM Tallahassee, FL (Sports Network) - Megan Van Tatenhove scored 18 points, leading four players in double figures, as St. Bonaventure secured a 72-65 overtime win against Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Tucker Center.

Seeded fifth in the Raleigh Region, the Bonnies (30-3) were aided by 17 points and nine rebounds from Armelia Horton, while Doris Ortega and Chelsea Bowker both dropped in 10 points in the hard-fought win.

The 12th-seeded Eagles (29-3) were paced by Sarah Hansen who registered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Nicoya Jackson and Eglah Griffin with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Florida Gulf Coast could have easily been blown out in the first half as it shot just 23.1 percent from the floor, but thanks to a 9-of-13 effort at the free-throw line the Eagles trailed by just six points at the break, 30-24.

In the second half FGCU surged ahead by as many as 11 points, but the Bonnies closed out regulation on a 16-5 run in order to force overtime. Both teams had a chance to win the game in regulation, but after FGCU's Courtney Chihil tied the game at 58-58 on a layup with 3.2 seconds left, St. Bonnies lost the ball out of bounds and that gave the Eagles one last shot with 1.1 seconds to play.

Florida Gulf Coast was able to inbound the ball and Griffin got a good look at the basket, but her jumper from the top of the key missed the mark.

In the extra session, a first for both teams this season, the squads were again locked up at 62-62 with under three minutes remaining, but from there St. Bonaventure took over with an 8-0 run to leave no doubt.

Thanks to their first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament, the Bonnies are now moving to the second round where they will clash with 13th-seeded Marist which upset Georgia earlier in the day.