Basketball, Sports

Women’s basketball wins 3rd in a row, blows away UMass

The Boston University women’s basketball team, fresh off arguably its biggest upset victory in program history, defeated the University of Massachusetts, 73–50, on Wednesday night at Case Gym.

Junior forward Rashidat Agboola scored 20 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday. MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The win is BU’s (6–3) third consecutive victory of the year. With the loss, the Minutewomen (2–7) have now lost seven of their last eight games.

“Great game from the get-go,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “We did a lot of great things.”

The Terriers came out hot to start the game, scoring the first seven points. After UMass scored the next four points, the Terriers went on a 13–0 run and held the Minutewomen to a single field goal over the span of nine minutes.

Thanks to eight first-half turnovers from UMass, as well as a bunch of open shots, the Terriers took a commanding 35–17 lead into the break.

“I think we just came out with more energy than them,” Greenberg said. “[UMass] made some changes and went big. They started bringing in three post players … But we stuck with our game plan.”

BU’s defense was strong in the first half, limiting UMass to just 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) shooting from the field, as well as 0-for-9 from beyond the arc.

The second half began similarly to the first, with BU going on a 6–0 run to begin the game and not allowing the Minutewomen to make a single field goal in the first four minutes of play.

BU continued to pad its lead as the second half progressed, at one point taking a 60–29 lead after a 3-pointer by senior guard Chantell Alford with eight minutes remaining in the game.

The rest of the second half was without much drama, as Terriers continued to hold on to their double-digit lead and breezed to the 73–50 victory.

Junior forward Rashidat Agboola and Alford were huge for the Terriers, combining for 37 points on the night.

Agboola finished the game with 20 points and ten rebounds. It was her second straight double-double and her third of the season. She also had three blocks on the night.

“I just tried to keep being aggressive,” Agboola said. “Coach was telling me after halftime to keep being aggressive and keep looking for the ball … I just tried to focus on rebounding in the beginning of the game. I think that’s really key for us.”

Senior guards Mo Moran and Kristen Sims were also major contributors for the Terriers, scoring nine and eight points, respectively. Junior forward Whitney Turner also had a big night, as she pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.

The Terriers had a season-high 48.3 field goal percentage (29-for-60) on the night. They also knocked down four of their 12 3-point shots.

BU won the battle on the boards with 39 rebounds to UMass’ 36 and scored 19 points off the Minutewomen’s 16 turnovers.

BU’s defense held the Minutewomen to just 50 points, well below their season average of 62.9 points per game. UMass shot just 33.3 percent from the field (20-for-60).

“I was most proud of our team on the defensive end,” Greenberg said. “We were really locking them down and really holding them … It really was a great defensive effort.”

This was BU’s third straight win with a margin of at least 17 points. It previously defeated the University of Rhode Island and St. John’s University.

BU will look to continue its dominant play when it travels to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to play Marist College on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

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