Terriers falter in America East semifinals

In two regular season matchups between the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and the Boston University women’s basketball teams, the Terriers earned a pair of victories by a combined margin of 11 points.

Needless to say, many BU fans were surprised when the fifth-seeded Retrievers in a 77-61 decision Sunday afternoon forced the America East regular season champions out of the America East Tournament.

The Terriers (23-8, 15-1 America East) were successful in the opening round of the tournament, when they defeated the University of Maine, 52-43. Chantell Alford, who was chosen as the America East Player of the Year for the second straight year, led BU in the victory over the Black Bears (8-23, 4-12 America East) with a game-high 18 points.

Alford’s performance in the quarterfinals was a catalyst of positivity for BU, as she had been battling wrist problems in the few games prior to the tournament. However, UMBC (17-14, 9-7 America East) quickly extinguished any immediate hope with the upset win over the Terriers in the semifinals.

“We didn’t come out and look like the BU team we have been all season,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “I think they definitely outmatched us with energy.”

The Terriers were evenly matched with the Retrievers in the category of two-point field goals, converting 18 to their opponents’ 17.

UMBC relied on 3-point shooting and success from the stripe to overcome BU. Of the Retrievers’ 77 points, 43 came from these two categories, as they finished 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from deep and 22-of-28 (78.6 percent) from the free-throw line.

“I thought all year long we did a good job of taking the other team’s strengths,” Greenberg said. “We did not do that in [Sunday’s] game with our defense. We allowed some of their scorers to get good looks.”

UMBC’s second-leading scorer on the season, senior Michelle Kurowski, certainly got her fair share of “looks.” The 5-foot-9 guard finished with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) shooting, including five treys.

Senior guard Alex Young did all she could to counteract Kurowski’s effort in the final America East Tournament game of her career. Young shot 50 percent from the field and finished with 20 points.

BU struggled in the first half of the dogfight, but the resultant half-time deficit of 33-23 was by no means a significant prediction of defeat. The Terriers had played excellent second-half basketball all season, executing comebacks against America East opponents such as the University Hartford and the University of Vermont.

Ultimately, UMBC prevented another such victory by steadily creating a cushion for its lead about six minutes into the half. A series of layups and converted free throws allowed the Retrievers to build their advantage up to 26 points on multiple occasions.

Not even the combined inside presence and rebounding abilities of forwards sophomore Rashidat Agboola (eight points, 12 rebounds, three blocks) and senior Caroline Stewart (12 points, 10 rebounds) could prevent the opposition from getting clean opportunities inside.

Greenberg said the team’s defense was uncharacteristically uncommunicative in the loss.

“When they went on that run in the second half, a lot of that was due to [our] not talking on defense,” Greenberg said. “We didn’t talk on out-of-bounds plays, wide-open layups, and our guards let them go back-door.”

The Terriers attempted a comeback toward the end of the game, but could not come any closer than 14 points.

Despite the disappointing loss, BU’s first-place finish in America East regular season play grants it at least one more game, as they automatically earn a spot in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

“Our seniors will make sure we are ready . . . for that first game in the WNIT – which I’m really glad we have,” Greenberg said. “We don’t want to finish our season not playing the way we have been all year.”