Basketball, Sports

Women’s basketball drops 3rd game of season

Even with a strong group effort Tuesday night, the Boston University women’s basketball team could not get the job done as it fell to Yale University, 78-68, at Case Gymnasium.

MAYA DEVEREAU/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF Danielle Callahan scores 13 points in loss to Yale
MAYA DEVEREAU/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Danielle Callahan scores 13 points in loss to Yale

BU (1-3) had trouble finding continuity on offense once again, going 22-for-57 overall from the field. The Terriers could not break through a tough Bulldog (3-1) defense that held each Terrier player to 13 points or fewer.

The Terriers struggled out of the gate, falling behind on an 8-0 Yale run before senior guard Danielle Callahan dropped a basket, which sparked an offensive charge. BU tied up the game with 16:10 remaining in the half and then scored four straight points to build a four-point lead.

The Bulldogs took the lead back, however, with 13:13 remaining in the first frame. The Terriers overcame the deficit though, with 3-pointer by senior guard Melissa Gallo.

The two teams continued to trade shots before Yale took over for good with eight minutes left in the half and secured a comfortable lead. Gallo dropped a second 3-pointer to cut the lead, but a series of fouls allowed the resilient Bulldogs to hold the lead heading into halftime, as the Terriers trailed by a score of 35-27.

“We haven’t been starting off games very well, and that forces us to play the ‘comeback’ game,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “We have to figure out what’s happening out there in the court, and as a whole, we have to be better. We have to get back to what we do well.”

As the second half started, the Terriers started out slow again, as the Bulldogs started the frame on a 6-0 run. Callahan, senior forward Rashidat Agboola and junior forward Mollie McKendrick helped lead a Terrier comeback, as each drained jumpers to cut the Bulldog lead to five points.

Unfortunately for the Terriers, the comeback effort in the second half came up short. By the time Bulldog forward Nyasha Sarju’s sunk a rainbow-like 3-point shot with 10 minutes to play, the BU deficit had grown to 14, putting an exclamation mark on Yale’s dominating performance.

“This was definitely a game of runs,” Gallo said. “Unfortunately, I think they had a few big [offensive] rebounds which they just scored off of. We just weren’t about to counter with some of our own scores.”

Greenberg agreed with Gallo.

“We want to get our post more touches,” Greenberg said. “We want to give the ball to Rashidat and [senior forward] Whitney [Turner], that’s where our experience is. They have to get the ball more and we have to come up with more ways to do that.”

Yale took advantage of 19 turnovers committed by the Terriers, who have been struggling with ball control this season.

“Coming into the season that was one of our biggest question marks,” Greenberg said. “Tonight, I thought we had a lot of unforced turnovers. [Yale] plays a tough defense, with the way that they pressured us, and we definitely made some silly ones. We knew [coming into the game] that they were going to be physical, especially off the ball, and just very disciplined overall. We just need to be better with the basketball and more composed, and that’s gonna take time.”

The Terriers fought to bring the score to 72-66 with 40 seconds remaining in the contest, but Yale proved to be too much. The Bulldogs put the game to bed as forward Lena Munzer sank two free throws to extend the lead to eight, finishing off a 78-68 win and handing BU its third loss of the season.

 

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