Basketball, NCAA, Sports

BU falters against Great Danes’ physicality

As far as women’s basketball goes, America East is no place for the weak. The teams who hold the top two spots in conference standings, Boston University and the University at Albany, are respectively ranked 19th and 22th in the nation in scoring defense. Albany has allowed only 53.4 points per game – only a fraction higher than the 53.2 points averaged by BU’s opponents.

So when the Terriers and the Great Danes met on Saturday for the second time this season, nobody in the crowd expected anything less than an all-out dog fight. This is exactly what they would get.

Albany was looking for redemption for its 58-54 loss in the teams’ Jan. 16 meeting, and BU was looking to clinch the America East regular-season title with a win. Despite the fact that it was BU’s senior night, Albany ultimately emerged as the top dog with a 48-41 victory.

Despite the loss, BU remains in the America East driver seat, still a half-game of ahead of Albany.

After recently playing several teams with aggressive defensive approaches and having dealt with Albany just more than a month ago, the Terriers were wary of the physicality of Albany’s press defense coming into the game.

However, BU could not overcome the challenge, and was simply unable to score enough.

“They press every game . . . so we weren’t surprised by it,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “Unfortunately for us we didn’t score, so they went on a little run.”

The beginning of the first half was one of the toughest stretches of the season for the Terriers, as they failed to score a single point for the first 8:04 of play. The Great Danes forced 20 turnovers during the course of the game, four of which came in the first five minutes.

“They were really physical with [junior guard Mo Moran], which is a good game plan,” Greenberg said. “She’s skinny and plays a lot of minutes, so she’s going to take a beating.”

Albany’s in-your-face defense held BU to just 29.8 percent shooting from the field, including 13.6 percent from 3-point range. Starting guards Moran and junior Chantell Alford were held to 12.5 percent and 8.3 percent shooting, respectively. Each converted only one basket in a combined 65 minutes of play. The pressure also forced Alford, the defending America East Player of the Year, to commit a game-high nine turnovers.

Though they were feisty and kinetic, the Great Danes also played with discipline, allowing the Terriers only eight opportunities from the free-throw line. Senior forward Caroline Stewart bucketed her two attempts from the stripe, and was one of the few bright spots for the Terriers.

“I didn’t feel any pressure. I was excited, I was calm,” Stewart said. “I don’t know what happened. I think we need to come into games with more intensity.”

Stewart recognized Albany’s physicality toward players in their typical roles, and adapted her play to allow more scoring opportunities. The 6-foot-1 power forward pulled up for several shots from outside the paint, her typical comfort zone, and nailed each one. Stewart finished the game shooting a flawless 6-for-6 and scoring a team-high 14 points. She also grabbed a game-high five offensive rebounds.

The press employed by the Great Danes lasted nearly the entire game. The Terriers struggled to find open outlets, and were forced to dish risky passes, giving the opposition several fast-break opportunities.

“My mind-set is that we should be playing just as physical or more physical,” Stewart said. “We are a very strong team and we need to match that and go beyond if we are going to win the next two games.”

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