After a poor shooting (26.1 percent) performance in a 55-41 loss to the United States Naval Academy Thursday night, the Boston University women’s basketball team bounced back with a win against a struggling Lafayette College squad Saturday afternoon.
The Terriers (8-14, 6-5 Patriot League) came up big with a 75-58 win over the conference’s cellar-dweller to put themselves above .500 in the Patriot League in the final contest of a two-game road swing.
BU received vital contributions from a plethora of sources, as five players scored in double figures, including freshman guard Vanessa Edgehill, who notched the first 11 points of her career in the victory.
“We have a really deep bench,” said BU head coach Katy Steding. “We have a lot of good quality players and some players are rising to the top in some games while others rise in other games. [Edgehill] is a very good player, and she is really smart.”
Now, the team will attempt to bridge together their first winning streak since Jan. 2 as they host American University on Wednesday night at Case Gym.
The Eagles (11-11, 8-3 Patriot League), who currently stand in third place in the Patriot League, enter the contest on a hot streak, having won three straight games.
On Feb. 1, American became the first team to knock off Bucknell University in conference play. The team hounded the strong Bison (17-5, 9-2 Patriot League) offense with tenacious defense en route to a 59-47 win, forcing 23 turnovers, which led to 23 points.
Three days later, the Eagles handled Lehigh University with ease, forcing 18 turnovers while shooting 48.1 percent from the field in a 70-58 beating.
“American does a great job of pressure defense,” Steding said. “They want you to play faster than you are comfortable playing. It is up to us to control our own tempo on offense.”
The Terriers also struggled against American’s defense on Jan. 11. In a 73-62 victory, the Eagles forced 18 turnovers, leading to 14 points. American enters Wednesday night owning the fourth-best turnover margin in the Patriot League (0.86), while the Terriers rank seventh, with a negative margin of -1.23.
“It’s incumbent upon us that we’re taking better care of the ball,” Steding said. “We have to make sure that we are executing well, setting good screens, moving the ball around the perimeter and getting [the ball] inside and back out, which we have been doing a pretty good job of.”
Eagles’ opponents shoot just 38.1 percent, the second-lowest mark in the league.
If the Terriers wish to record a victory on Wednesday, they must improve upon their rebounding prowess against American. In the previous meeting, BU struggled on the glass, as the Eagles grabbed 39 boards compared with the Terriers’ 27. American scored 10 second-chance points, which proved to be the difference in the contest.
While junior guard Corrine Williams grabbed eight rebounds in the game, nobody else had more than four. However, senior center Sophie Beaudry capitalized on her size advantage at 6-feet-5, shooting 11-for-15 from the field en route to a season-best 27 points.
Beaudry currently owns the highest field goal percentage in the league at 49.6 percent and ranks ninth in the conference in points per game with 13. Expect BU to feature her in the post as they look to exploit the American defense by limiting unnecessary passes and isolations on the perimeter.
“Our turnovers are unforced,” Steding said. “We are just making poor decisions as to where and when to pass the ball. [We are] just working on our timing and working on our sense of where each other are.”
