In a game of sustained runs from both teams, the Boston University women’s basketball team was able to put together the most important scoring stretches in a 61-49 victory over the University of Vermont last night.
BU benefited from 11-0 and 13-0 runs at pivotal points in the game to hand the Catamounts their first home loss in America East play this season. The win boosted the Terriers out of a tie for last in the conference, improving their record to 12-11 (4-6 America East) while Vermont fell to 15-7 and 5-4 in the conference.
“It was a great win,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “We’re really excited. It was a great game all around.”
Although Vermont has the conference’s most heralded freshman, Courtnay Pilypaitis, it was BU freshman Aly Hinton who stole the spotlight last night with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. She coupled that with 11 rebounds for her second double-double in her last two games and her career. She did all this while playing the full 40 minutes for the Terriers.
“She’s got to be really happy with two huge games like this,” Greenberg said. “We tried to get the ball into Aly’s hands and she came through for us. It’s a great accomplishment for a freshman.”
Pilypaitis did all she could to keep Vermont in the game, but her efforts were not enough. The Canadian finished the game with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-12 from 3-point range. She also added seven rebounds, two steals, two assists and was the only Catamount to reach double figures in scoring.
The game started poorly for the Terriers, as Vermont jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first thirty seconds of the game. Greenberg responded by taking starters — senior tri-captain Katie Meinhardt and sophomore sharp-shooter Kristi Dini — out of the game and replacing them with sophomore guards Christine Kinneary and Amarachi Umez-Eronini.
“Katie and Kristi allowed them to do some things we didn’t want,” Greenberg said.
The substitution worked perfectly for the Terriers, as BU went on an 11-0 run with the dynamic defensive pair disrupting UVM’s offense. After scoring five points to start the game, the Catamounts went almost seven full minutes without scoring a point and just under ten minutes without scoring a field goal. During that streak, the Catamounts shot 0-of-17.
“We went with Amarachi and Christine for their intensity,” Greenberg said. “Anyone who follows our team knows that they’re really our toughest players. They got down and dirty and made [Vermont] hurry their offense.”
But Vermont did not go away easily. BU seemed to be on the verge of putting the game away with 2:27 left in the half, up 30-17, but the home team responded with two 3-pointers before the end of the half. A once-comfortable BU lead was cut to seven, 30-23.
Vermont continued to claw its way back in the second half, as they scored the first nine points to take a 32-30 lead. BU responded with a Cheri Raffo jumper to tie the game and end UVM’s 15-0 run.
But things were looking all too familiar for a team that let too many teams come back with big runs at the end of first halves and the beginning of second halves this season.
“That’s happened two or three times this year,” Greenberg said. “But we stayed composed.”
The scoring went back and forth until BU put together a 6-0 run, giving the Terriers a 40-34 lead with 13:55 left. Vermont responded again, cutting the gap to one, but a 13-0 BU run that ended with a layup from junior forward Kasey Devine with 5:42 remaining helped put the Catamounts away for good.
BU’s defense was the story of the game, holding a team that lit them up for 87 points Jan. 7 to just 49 points this time around. Vermont finished the game 8-of-28 (29 percent) from behind the arc, but those eight 3’s composed half of Vermont’s made field goals as the team finished 16-of-59 from the field (27 percent).
“We played all zone defense, which we don’t normally do,” Greenberg said. “Our goal was to get them to shoot a lot of 3s. It was a great defensive team effort.”
The previously struggling Terriers have now won two straight conference games and hope their momentum will carry them through the rest of the conference schedule.
“It certainly gives us momentum,” Greenberg said. “We know what we’re capable of. Like I told the girls, this win was not a shock to me.”