Terriers Triumph On Senior Night Against Seawolves

The Boston University women’s basketball team’s game against the State University of New York at Stony Brook last night was a tale of two halves — but not in the typical sense.

After building a 12-point halftime lead with their offense, the Terriers held off the Seawolves in the second half with their defense, closing out their 2001-02 home schedule with a 62-48 win at The Roof.

The Terriers (16-9, 9-5 America East) shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field in the first half to build a 35-23 halftime lead. When their offense went cold in the second half, the Terriers leaned on their defense, forcing 15 of Stony Brook’s 26 turnovers after the break and holding them to 33 percent (16-of-48) shooting for the game.

“I thought we played well in both halves defensively,” head coach Margaret McKeon said. “Offensively, I was a little concerned because we kind of got tentative against their zone in the second half. [I’m] trying to express to them that they have to play hard for 40 minutes – don’t let people hang around and be concerned about how we play offensively and defensively.”

The Terriers took the lead for good at 14-13 when Marisa Moseley converted a layup with 10:20 left in the first half, then scored the last eight points of the half for their 12-point halftime lead. BU extended that lead to 16 points (42-26) with 17:03 remaining in the game when Larissa Parr took a pass from Courtney Jones after a turnover and converted a layup.

But just as the Terriers were going for the knockout punch, they got cold offensively, and Stony Brook (13-11, 6-7 America East) went on a 17-7 run to get back into the game. When Stony Brook’s Sherry Jordan (who, with 14 points, was the only Seawolf in double-figures) converted a three-point play with 6:12 remaining, Stony Brook was down by only six with plenty of time left.

Then Moseley took over the game.

On BU’s next possession, Moseley made a great cut to the basket, converted a layup and hit a free throw after being fouled by Jill George to push the lead back to nine points.

When the Seawolves brought the ball up the floor on their next possession, Moseley picked off Sara Burkett’s errant pass and went the distance for another three-point-play, fouling Jordan out of the game in the process.

With the Terriers now up 55-43 and having regained some momentum offensively, Moseley emphatically rejected a three-point attempt by Stony Brook’s Stephanie Barlett, corralled the loose ball, went the length of the floor with it and was fouled again. The layup didn’t fall this time, but Moseley hit 1-of-2 free throws.

In a span of 75 seconds, Moseley scored seven of her game-high 15 points, and a shaky six-point lead was now a very secure 56-43 edge with 4:49 remaining. Stony Brook wouldn’t get its deficit under double-digits again.

“We had a timeout, and in the timeout, coach said that we needed to send that team a message,” Moseley said. “Once they get it to single digits, then it’s really scary, because every possession counts. I thought we had dominated inside the whole night, and I thought, ‘Why not take it upon myself?’ I got in the flow of the offense, and things started happening.”

The Terriers finished the season 7-5 at home, their best home record of the McKeon era. Their last two regular season contests are road games at the Universities of Maine (Sunday) and New Hampshire (March 1).

With the America East tournament looming on the horizon and both the Black Bears and Wildcats sitting right behind the Terriers in the standings, both games are critical for seeding purposes. BU could finish as high as second or as low as sixth.

“I’m not so hung up with finishing second,” McKeon said. “I’m more hung up with going into Maine and New Hampshire and sending them a message, and doing it on the road. That’s sending a message going into the America East tournament. Sunday is our situation right now. We’ll see what we’re made of.”