Things are never as easy as they may seem.
With the Boston University women’s basketball team looking for its first America East road win, there couldn’t have been a much better opponent than the University of Hartford. The Hawks came into last night’s game 7-11 on the year, 3-3 in the conference, but losers of four of their last five.
The Terriers (12-7, 5-3 America East) were able to scrape out an ugly 50-41 victory at the Chase Family Arena in Hartford, Conn., last night, despite playing without two of their top three scorers. Sophomores Katie Terhune and Marisa Moseley were back on campus with the flu, but head coach Margaret McKeon’s Terriers showed a lot of heart and pulled out their first road conference win of the year.
The first half, however, was ugly. The Terriers did not score until the 14:41 mark, and neither team exactly shot the lights out. BU’s 36 percent from the field would not hold up on most nights, but when the opponent shoots 26 percent, as the Hawks did Wednesday, 36 percent is good enough to win games.
The two teams combined for 43 points in the first half; the same as BU alone scored in the first half of a win against Central Connecticut in December. Missing the 27.9 points per night from Terhune and Moseley, the scoring, although sparse, was spread among the Terriers. Sophomore Courtney Jones led three Terriers in double figures with 13, while senior Dia Dufault, who has had a slow first half of the season, broke out with a career-high 13 rebounds, including 10 in the first half.
According to the statistics, the Terriers had the game all but locked up when they entered the half with a 24-18 lead. BU came in 12-2 on the year when leading at the half, while the Hawks were 0-10. But Hartford fought back, taking a one-point lead late in the game. Two Jones free throws at the 6:36 mark put the Terriers up 37-35, and strong play from freshman and conference Rookie of the Week Adrienne Norris, along with freshman Larissa Parr, helped the Terriers close it out for the nine-point win.
McKeon was pleased with the win, although her team didn’t exactly put on a shooting clinic, hitting 36 percent from the floor in the first half. She began her post-game radio interview by addressing her two absent players listening from their dorm beds. She did not mention the poor shooting, or the turnovers, but was upbeat about the win. She highlighted the character shown by her troops, even jokingly telling Moseley and Terhune that they are expected at practice on Thursday.
With the win, the Terriers are now 5-3 in conference, pulling them out of a three-way tie for fourth place. The team returns to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts the University of Vermont, the team touted as the America East preseason favorite.
The Catamounts are 4-3 in conference and will play at Northeastern University tonight before coming to the Roof.
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