WASHINGTON (December 20, 2025) – Senior forward Zennia Thomas (Cleveland) scored a game-high 22 points and freshman guard Ariella Henigan (Chicago) came off the bench to score 15 of her 19 points in the second half as the Howard University women's basketball team defeated St. Bonaventure, 76-64, in a nonconference showdown at Burr Gymnasium.
 
The win was the third straight for the streaking Bison while remaining unbeaten inside The Burr.
 
Howard (10-5) was coming a huge 66-64 road upset win at Cincinnati Tuesday (Dec. 16).
 
The Bonnies were undaunted, tying the score at the end of one quarter, 15-15. Following the scoring of Aliyah Parker's 10 first half points, St. Bonaventure threatened to take control as it led, 23-16, early in the second quarter before Howard reeled off a 22-9 spurt to close out the half with a 38-32 lead.
 
Much of the scoring came courtesy of its vaunted full court pressure. Thomas was effective both down the paint area as well as away from the basketball with her mid-range game.
 
Redshirt junior guard Zoe Stewart (Terre Haute, Ind.) also played a role with 11 of her team's points.
 
St. Bonaventure (9-4) came out smoking in the third quarter and reeled off a 9-0
push that helped them to a 51-44 lead at the 3:52 mark.
 
That is when Howard turned up the heat and forced numerous shots and untimely turnovers, using a 15-3 scoring run to close out the lead, 59-55, at the end of three quarters.
 
With Henigan tallying 10 of her points in the quarter, including seven-in-a-row at one point, and Thomas and junior guard Destiny Bynum-Johnson (Newark, N.J.) combined to keep the visitors at bay.
 
Howard went on a 10-0 run the first five minutes to take a solid 69-55 lead with a little over two minutes remaining. St. Bonaventure did not score a field goal until there was 1:20 second left on the clock in the fourth quarter.
 
While Thomas, Henigan and Stewart provided the offense, it the suffocating defense by senior forward Nile Miller (Woodbury, N.J.) and junior forward Sa'lah Hemingway (San Bernardino, Calif.), who made life difficult for the St. Bonaventure's top scorers.
 
Howard, which came into the game ranked among the nation's leaders in scoring defense, field goal and three-point field goal defense, continued their consistence in that area.
 
Thomas was 7-of-14 from the floor, a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, along with eight rebounds.
 
Henigan finished with a career-high 19 points, including a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line, along with four assists, three steals and a blocked shot.
 
Stewart, the team's second leading scorer behind Thomas, was shackled with foul trouble in the game and finished with 11 points.
 
The Bonnies were led by Parker, who led her team with 17 points, and Mackenzie Pettinelli and Layce Drake contributed nine points and eight points, respectively.
 
NEXT UP: Howard travels to West Point, N.Y. to take on Army Monday (Dec. 29) at noon.
 
For more information, visit the official Howard Athletics website www.hubison.com.