Basketball, Sports

West Virginia too high a mountain for women’s basketball

The Boston University women’s basketball team suffered yet another loss on the road on Saturday when it faced off against West Virginia University, with a final score of 78-53.

RACHEL CORTELLESSA/DFP FILE PHOTO Junior guard Chantell Alford scored her 1000th career point in BU's loss to West Virginia

The Terriers, who are undefeated at Case Gymnasium, have lost all of their games on the road thus far this season.

“We just have to keep plugging away,” said BU head coach Kelly Greenberg.

Both teams came onto the court playing strong from the first tip.

The Mountaineers (5-2) got the lead from the start, only to face BU’s (3-4) retaliation in an attempt to regain control.

The Terriers tied the game at seven points apiece before West Virginia recovered for the remainder of the night.

Although BU outshot its opponents in the first half, the score remained 39-30 in favor of Mountaineers.

With the second half underway, the Terriers fought valiantly to take back the game, only to fall short.

Strong offensive performances individually and a defensive effort across the board contributed to the persistent by BU.

Junior guard Chantell Alford scored her 1,000th career point in the second half of Saturday’s contest in just her third year of play.

Alford currently leads the team in points scored this season with 97.

This achievement for Alford comes after being named last year’s America East Conference Player of the Year, as well as earning positions on the America East All-Defensive team and All-Tournament team.

Senior guard Alex Young also reached her 1,000th point earlier this season, in a game against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Despite reaching that milestone, Young, one of the team’s three senior captains, has been surprisingly quiet in the past two games, earning only one point against the Mountaineers and none in the team’s game against Harvard last week.

Senior forward and tri-captain Caroline Stewart played well on Saturday, with seven rebounds and five points on the night.

“[Stewart is] all about hard work and hustle, giving her very all to the point of passing out,” Greenberg said. “[As a coach] you can’t ask for anything else, [as] she gives all she’s got.”

Another player who stood out in particular this weekend was junior guard Mo Moran. Described earlier in the season by Greenberg as a “rock for the team,” Moran had 10 points on the night and played well defensively in an effort to stop West Virginia.

“She’s had to change her game, every game, which is hard because you have your own style,” Greenberg said of Moran’s play this year. “Other teams are doing anything they can to slow her down. She’s matured a lot and continues to work hard.”

Next up for the Terriers is another away game on Wednesday, this time against Yale University. The game is set to begin at 5 p.m. in New Haven, Conn.

Thus far, BU has had limited success on the road and the Terriers will face what Greenberg admits is a tough schedule ahead. After their Ivy League opponents, the Terriers face Marist College on Saturday, followed by another away game against Boston College on Dec 13.

BU continues to work hard and is persistent in improving their record on the road, while keeping Case Gymnasium a challenging atmosphere for opponents to succeed.

“We keep talking about defense. We don’t have an easy schedule [in the near future],” Greenberg said. “We have a tough schedule. We knew that coming in and I’m proud of how we’ve handled it so far.”

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