Over the past two games, the Boston University women’s basketball team has shown tremendous heart in overcoming double-digit deficits in the fourth quarter.
In the midst of a thrilling 25-10 fourth quarter run in the Terriers’ (6-12, 4-3 Patriot League) 61-58 victory over the Loyola Greyhounds on Saturday afternoon, the Terriers learned how one single quarter can define the outcome of a game.
This trend carried into Wednesday night’s contest against Colgate University, as the Terriers rebounded from a 12-point deficit at the outset of the fourth quarter. However, BU’s luck ran out in the second overtime frame, as the Raiders (6-12, 3-4 Patriot League) outscored the Terriers 10-1, garnering a hard-fought 96-87 victory.
“[We are bringing] full court pressure, a refreshed mindset, and a sense of urgency in our play [in the fourth quarter],” said BU head coach Katy Steding. “I didn’t think we played with a sense of urgency until we needed it, and we can’t depend on that all of the time. We still have to get stops.”
Colgate was spurred in double overtime by two 3-pointers from senior Katie Curtis, who emerged for a scintillating 29-point performance, which included an incredible 8-of-9 shooting from deep. She, along with sophomore forward Summer King, dug the Terriers into an insurmountable eight-point hole to begin the second overtime.
“We didn’t stop them from finishing,” said Steding. “We let them have 96 points, about 30 more points than anyone has scored on us all season. That’s a lot of points, even for two overtimes.”
Placing an emphasis on attacking the rim, the Terriers received double-digit efforts from five different performers and scored 44 points in the paint. Junior center Sophie Beaudry and senior guard Sarah Hope, who hit six triples, led the team with 20 points. Sophomore forward Naiyah Thompson impressed with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field to accompany five rebounds and five assists.
“The key was getting the ball [inside],” said Steding. “We made that part of our game plan and attacked it at the beginning of the game. We kind of got away from it, so we made a concerted effort to go back inside in the second half.”
Senior guard Courtney Latham had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards, while freshman forward Nia Irving posted a double-double of her own with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Terriers appeared to be finished with 9:26 remaining in regulation as they trailed 61-47. Despite the gap, BU displayed tremendous perseverance for the second straight contest. A Hope 3-pointer with just under seven minutes to go provided the kindling for a 11-3 run, which brought the Terriers to within one.
Then, she drained two consecutive 3-pointers, including one with just 24 seconds left, to force overtime.
Unfortunately for Steding, her squad couldn’t continue the come-from-behind magic in the second overtime.
“We traded baskets with them for [most of] overtime, and in the second overtime we just ran out of gas.”
