After clawing back from a 16-point halftime deficit Saturday at the University of New Hampshire, the Boston University women’s basketball team was unable to finish strong, losing 71-66.
The Terriers began the game with two quick baskets by Meinhardt and Dini to take a 4-0 lead in the opening minute. That lead was quickly erased, however, as Wildcats senior Ashley Cerniglia’s 3-pointer with 13:02 to go capped off a 15-3 Wildcat run. For the next seven minutes, the Terriers tried to keep the game within a single-digit deficit, but the Wildcats’ outside shooting and free-throw accuracy down the stretch of the first half gave them a 39-23 lead at the half on New Hampshire’s Senior Night.
“I thought the emotion of their Senior Night helped them . . . one of my assistants pointed out that on their first 15 shots, they were 80 percent,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “But we had a lack of focus on the defense end and we fell apart. Our intensity and focus wasn’t there and we let them get open jumpers.”
The Terriers still had some fight after the break, as senior Erica Kovach scored a 3-pointer that was followed by a four-point play by Meinhardt.
In addition to sinking the outside shot, the Terriers cut down the Wildcats’ lead by getting to the free-throw line. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, BU was 9-of-9 from the charity stripe, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and 0-of-5 from inside for 27 points. It was not until sophomore Kasey Devine hit a jumper in the paint with 10:02 left to make the game 51-49 that the Terriers scored a two-pointer in the second half.
“We were running a ball screen at the top of the key with Katie, which set up Dini for her 3s,” Greenberg said. “We weren’t looking for one thing, but when we saw what they were giving us, we tried to take advantage.”
After Devine’s basket brought BU within two, the teams began trading baskets. The Terriers made their move when Meinhardt hit a layup to bring the game within two with 2:53 left. After a 30-second Wildcat timeout, the Terriers capitalized on a missed Cerniglia 3-pointer, with Dini connecting on a 3 to put the Terriers up one. However, it was not Dini or Meinhardt who played the hero in this game. Instead it was UNH senior Whitney Edwards.
After getting fouled by Devine with 1:15 left in the game, Edwards connected on two free throws to give the Wildcats the lead once again. Edwards got the ball back for UNH on the next possession when she grabbed the rebound off a missed Dini 3. With the Terriers down in the game and low on time, they went into foul-mode, and Edwards responded to the pressure, converting on her next four foul shots to ice the victory.
“We weren’t trying to foul her, especially when we were up one after Dini’s 3,” Greenberg said. “Our game plan was to give her space and let her dribble, but when we let all our guards up on her and she got to the basket, she would draw the contact.”
Senior tri-captain Katie Meinhardt led the Terriers (14-14, 6-9 America East), with 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Sophomore sharpshooter Kristi Dini added 14 of her own, including 12 from beyond the arc, while Amarachi Umez-Eronini also scored in double digits, with 10. The Wildcats (9-17, 4-10) got the usual dominant performance from senior Danielle Clark, who scored 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting. They also received an energizing performance from Cerniglia off the bench (17 points on 6-of-12 shooting).
The Terriers, now ranked sixth in the cluttered America East conference, only have one more game to improve their standing. Even after a matchup with Binghamton University on Wednesday, they will probably have to wait for the rest of the America East results to come in. With a win, the Terriers can place as high as third and as low as seventh, and with a loss, BU can place as high as sixth and as low as seventh.