For 20 minutes on Sunday afternoon, the basket at Case Gymnasium seemed as big as Katie Terhune’s piercing green eyes.
Terhune needed only eight points to move into second place on the all-time Boston University women’s basketball career scoring list prior to the game, a spot formerly occupied by Alison Dixon and her 1,648 points. Maybe it was because the Patriots were playing directly after the game, but she wasted no time taking care of matters against America East rival University of Vermont.
Just over five minutes into the first half, Terhune had scored 10 of the Terriers’ first 12 points. When the teams broke for a timeout with 14 minutes remaining in the first, a momentary celebration broke out, as she assumed her new silver seat on the podium. Gold sits at 1,869 points with Debbie Palmore-Miller.
Not to say that her colors weren’t brilliant. Fireworks generally are.
Terhune was only hot weather and distant uncles away from the Fourth of July in the first half, adding 12 points after she broke Dixon’s mark to go into the half having scored 22 of the Terriers’ 44 points. The Catamounts – all of them – scored only 26 in the first half. Shooting 6-13 from the field with one three-pointer, and 9-9 from the charity stripe, Terhune offered enough firepower to take over Canada. Or at least keep the power grids from crashing again.
Most importantly for the team – and much to the delight of Terhune – her teammates were also in the party mood. It was a three-day weekend, after all. They stole the show in the second half, as the Terriers scored a season-high 47 points in a half, breaking the record from 20 minutes earlier. Terhune scored only two points in the second half.
In the end, four Terriers finished in double figures in scoring, including junior Becky Bonner’s 21 points, as they downed the Catamounts in a 91-65 drubbing. Terhune’s 22 first-half points would have been enough to lead BU in scoring in seven of the 13 games this season. And they couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Catamounts came into the game first in the America East in offense with 69.3 points per game, led by the league’s top scorer in senior Aaron Yantzi. Vermont came in 2.4 points per game ahead of the Terriers. Before losing to BU in last year’s America East Tournament, the Catamounts had won 15 straight games in the series, and came in ahead of the Terriers in America East rankings.
And they left with a 26-point loss.
“It feels good to beat them just because in my four years here, I’ve never beaten them on this court,” Terhune said, “So, I mean, that feels good.”
In her characteristically humble way, Terhune passed the attention, much in the same way she rose above the attention the Catamounts were paying her in the first half.
“My teammates did an excellent job of finding me,” she said. “Their zone creates a lot of shots… [BU coach Margaret McKeon] did a good job showing me where I can score, and I just took advantage of that.”
Those teammates did an excellent job of finding each other in the second half, too, with 12 second-half assists. And by doing so, the team looked closer to finding itself, which has become one of McKeon’s goals in the season to this point.
The effort was the team’s highest-scoring game of the season, and first time they’ve reached the 90s since last February. For perhaps the first time all season, McKeon’s team found itself close to realizing its potential. Seven Terriers played at least 18 minutes, and every active player on the roster played over eight. They forced 31 turnovers. They had more assists than turnovers – 19 to 16. Not to mention, they shot 44.6 percent from the floor, which included 47.5 percent in the second half.
“I think they’re feeling good about themselves,” McKeon said. “They played well, and we did a lot of good things, staying within our system defensively and offensively. And it looked like they were having a lot of fun out there. Hopefully that will stay the whole year.”
With Terhune taking a second-half seat – she played only eight minutes in the final frame – the Terriers proved they are able to play without their leading scorer. The team’s second-leading scorer, Bonner, did open the second half with four straight three-pointers. And America East Rookie of the Week Nadia Bibbs showed more crafty moves than a chess master, putting up 12 points in the victory. Her freshman teammate Erica Kovach scored a career-high 10 points to add to the mix.
Terhune, however, didn’t even get the paper chain link the top player in each win gets to break. Senior Marisa Moseley became the newest chain gang member with her 10-rebound, five-assist effort.
“My teammates are doing an excellent job stepping up, hitting great shots and rebounding,” Terhune said. “Marisa was killing on the boards tonight. She was all over the glass, snatching that ball. As long as everybody does their role, then we’re deadly.
“A team that stops us has to stop every one of us,” she added, “or they’re losing.”