The Boston University women’s basketball team played its second consecutive ugly game yesterday but this time the Terriers couldn’t overcome their sloppy play and emerge with a victory.

Fueled by 29 Terrier turnovers, the University of Delaware defeated BU, 79-59, in Newark, Del. The loss ends BU’s two-game winning streak and leaves the Terriers at 5-4 on the season, while the win was Delaware’s seventh straight. The Blue Hens now stand at 8-1 on the season.

“We’re not happy with our turnovers,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “We’re not being 100 percent focused. We’re too anxious to try to make something happen.”

Senior tri-captain and guard Katie Meinhardt’s 24 points could not prevent the Terriers from faltering. Delaware’s Tyresa Smith also scored 24 points to match Meinhardt for the game high.

Also scoring in double figures for the Terriers was senior tri-captain forward Erica Kovach (12 points) and freshman forward Aly Hinton (11).

Meinhardt’s hot hand led the Terriers in the first half. The senior scored 18 of her points in the opening half on 7-of-9 shooting, including four three-pointers.

“She played a great all-around game,” Greenberg said. “Her shot was on for the first time this year really.”

Because of Meinhardt’s strong performance, the Terriers were able to play with Delaware for the first half. The Blue Hens started off the game on a 9-3 run, but the Terriers caught up after a much-needed timeout. With both teams shooting at a high percentage, the score was climbing fast and with 14:12 remaining in the first half, Meinhardt hit her second three, giving Terriers their first lead since the beginning moments of the game, 12-10.

After tying the game at 14, the Terriers took the lead again on another Meinhardt trey, putting the Terriers up 17-14 with 12:45 left in the half. At that point, the senior already had 13 points.

The Terriers would open up their biggest lead of the game when sophomore guard Christine Kinneary hit a layup to put the Terriers up six, 22-16, with 10:32 left in the half.

“We came out with good energy,” Greenberg said. “We were smart and sharp against the zone. We were the only team this year that got them out of it.”

But things would go downhill from there. The Blue Hens responded, outscoring the Terriers 25-11 in the remainder of the half to go into halftime with a 41-33 lead.

“I think that big run really hurt us,” Greenberg said.

Delaware did not slow down in the second half either. The Blue Hens opened the half on a 16-3 run, giving them a 57-36 lead and putting the game out of reach. The Terriers committed four turnovers during that run, which lasted 8:00 into the second half.

The score went back and forth from that point forward until the final whistle sounded and Delaware emerged with a 20-point victory.

Even Meinhardt couldn’t rescue the Terriers in the second half. She scored just six points in the frame, hitting two three-pointers with 10:58 and 2:24 left in the game. She now stands just 38 points shy of the 1,000 point mark in her career after yesterday’s efforts.

For Delaware, Smith grabbed 13 rebounds and two steals, which were enough to give her the all-time school record in swipes. Kyle DeHaven set a school record for the Blue Hens with nine steals in 23 minutes off the bench and four Blue Hens scored in double digits against the Terriers.

“[Smith] is very athletic. She does some things that even when we play good defense on her that we can’t stop,” Greenberg said. “She’s extremely active.”

Kinneary made her return to the starting lineup after a three game absence. Greenberg was glad to have her running the point and playing good defense.

“Christine really battled their point guard. We can do some things defensively that we can’t do without her,” Greenberg said.

Delaware has now defeated BU in 14 of the last 16 meetings, with BU’s most recent victory over the Blue Hens coming last year.