The St. Bonaventure’s women’s basketball program is coming off a 17-16 (7-11 Atlantic 10) season that culminated in hosting and winning a WNIT game. Led by head coach Jim Crowley, who is entering the fourth season of his second stint at St. Bonaventure, the Bonnies are looking to continue to compete this upcoming season.
St. Bonaventure retained 10 players from last season’s roster. However, two of its leading scorers in Aaliyah Parker and Laycee Drake, are no longer on the roster. Crowley and his staff added transfers Kyla Hayes (St. John’s), Jordyn Williams (Niagara) and Kay Donahue (Lafayette). While it’ll be tough to replace the scoring of Parker and Drake, retaining 10 players is key for a strong, competitive Atlantic 10.
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“I think they’ll be different,” Crowley said. “We were very basketball experience heavy last year with Drake and Parker. A number of people played together. Even some of our transfers have played with some of our kids through AAU and different things, so I think that familiarity fits well with how we like to play.”
Parker, however, is still involved with the program and joined the staff as an assistant coach. She played three years at Niagara before transferring to St. Bonaventure for the 2024-2025 season. However, an injury kept her out of action for the entire year. In the 2025-2026 season, she averaged 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals and was a major contributor in the team’s WNIT run. After spending two years in the program, Parker is a big add for the coaching staff.
“She’s just a great human being, really knowledgeable, great work ethic,” Crowley said. “It was kind of a no-brainer for us to keep her around and get her on staff.”
Crowley is one of the most accomplished coaches in St. Bonaventure history, leading the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances and a magical Sweet 16 run in 2012 during his first stint. Crowley is big on stressing believing you can do it and having the discipline to play well, which is something he constantly instills in his players. Coming back to help rebuild this program is important to Crowley.
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“Obviously we still have more to do because consistency is kind of the key to rebuilding,” Crowley said. “This program means a ton to me. I mean, this school gave me my chance and stuck with me. I also just really believe in the mission and the way they treat people here. I met my wife in the (Reilly Center).”
A lot has changed in between his St. Bonaventure tenures, though, including the installment of NIL. St. Bonaventure, technically its own town sandwiched between Olean and Allegany, N.Y., is at a disadvantage when it comes to NIL funding. Looking around the Atlantic 10, schools in bigger towns and cities like St. Louis and Dayton typically don’t have as tough of a time.
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Instead of worrying, complaining and feeling defeated, Crowley is keen on finding a way through it. That comes in the form of playing together and trusting one another on and off the court.
“Maybe they have more NIL or whatever it may be,” Crowley said. “But we still got who we are and we think that’s a pretty special thing. And we’re going to lean all the way into that and be the best version of us.”
St. Bonaventure hosted a thrilling WNIT game in March, defeating Drexel 69-67 in overtime after a last second shot from Parker. More than 850 fans piled into the Reilly Center to support, nearly doubling their average attendance during the regular season.
This past season saw great improvement for the program, as its 17 wins is more than the three previous seasons combined (16). The postseason berth wasn’t only a big win for the program, it was massive for St. Bonaventure’s athletics as a whole. This took place in the midst of the controversial retirement of longtime men’s basketball head coach Mark Schmidt, so hosting and winning a WNIT game was a major positive in a much needed time.
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“With the year we had and where we had been the last few years, a chance to play in the postseason, we thought would be a really good motivator for our group, and then we thought we earned it,” Crowley said. “And plus, I just thought it was a really good time. There was some things going on in athletics that we just felt we needed something good, and I felt our fans needed something to cheer for.”
St. Bonaventure is looking to build upon the big step taken last season. Crowley expressed how good of a group he has and how everyone is bought into the St. Bonaventure culture. They believe in each other, in themselves and have the discipline to potentially have yet another successful season. The Bonnies tip off their season Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. against D’Youville.
