W. hoops splits at Moran Realty Classic in Chicago

The Boston University women’s basketball team found out on Friday night what it was like to be on the wrong end of a great individual performance.

Montana State University forward Isabel Stubbs scored a game-high 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds en route to a 74-65 Bobcats victory.

If the Terriers were curious to find out the feeling from the other side, they only had to wait until Saturday night.

The Terriers rode a season and game-high 28 points from junior guard Katie Terhune to a 64-54 win over the University of Loyola at Chicago in the consolation game on Saturday at the Moran Realty Classic in Chicago.

Terhune shot 12-of-23 from the field to help the Terriers shoot 43.3 percent from the field in the game. It wasn’t all the Katie Terhune show, however, as other BU players made big plays when needed. After Loyola closed the gap on a number of occasions, it was a team effort by the Terriers that put them over the top in Saturday’s contest.

With BU ahead, 51-50, and 7:45 left to play in Saturday’s game, Terhune started the Terriers on a 10-1 run that finished off the Ramblers. She finished a lay-up off a long feed from freshman guard Katie Meinhardt. Three consecutive baskets from sophomore forward Larissa Parr and a bank shot from senior guard Alison Argentieri left the Terriers with a 61-51 lead and 1:39 to play in the game.

A similar BU run occurred to close out the first half. Loyola cut BU’s lead to 29-28 with 6:08 left in the first half after forward Ciara Henderson sunk a three-pointer, part of her team-high 17 points which included four three-pointers. The Terriers responded with a 13-5 run to end the first half and give them a 42-33 lead entering the locker room. Five players not named Terhune contributed to the offensive spurt, including four points from junior center Amparo Lopez on a lay-up and two free throws.

Parr finished the game with eight points, and junior forward Marisa Moseley contributed seven points and nine rebounds. Forward Maggie Toczylowski added a double-double for Loyola with 13 points (6-for-12 shooting from the floor) and 11 rebounds.

Parr came off the bench in Friday’s defeat to tie for the team-high in points with 12. Sophomore forward Adrienne Norris, along with Terhune, scored 12 points. The three high scorers for BU also combined for a total of 14 fouls on Friday night. Junior guard Courtney Jones tossed in 10 points but also picked up five fouls.

Jones fouled out with 45 seconds to play in the game, and Terhune fouled out with 2:16 to play. Parr picked up her fifth foul with 6:44 to play in the game, sending her to the bench for good.

For the game on Friday night, 55 fouls were called on both teams, 32 on the Terriers. The Bobcats went to the line 39 times, shooting 69 percent from the charity stripe (27-for-39). BU was a little more successful, sinking 75 percent of their shots from the line (24-32).

BU Coach Margaret McKeon was upset with so many fouls being called, but realized the officials were calling the game strictly on both sides of the floor.

‘It didn’t help our situation, there were a lot of fouls called on moving screens, hand-checking and rough play in the post,’ McKeon said. ‘It was on both ends of the floor, so it wasn’t one-sided.’

It was more than just foul trouble that hurt the Terriers, as they squandered a 31-30 halftime lead. With the score tied at 53 and 7:56 to play in the game, Stubbs began to dominate in the low post for the Terriers. She scored six points in Montana State’s 10-2 run that gave them the lead for good. McKeon said her team just didn’t have an answer for Stubbs late in the game.

‘Obviously going into the game we knew about their big inside player (Stubbs),’ McKeon said. ‘Down the stretch you know you have to make stops, but there were times in the second half when it just didn’t work out.’

Even with Stubbs’ low post dominance, the Terriers managed to out-rebound the Bobcats, 38-36. Parr and Lopez each secured seven rebounds for BU. It wasn’t low-post play, but turnovers that hurt the Terriers the most.

The Terriers gave the ball up 27 times on the night, compared to just 17 turnovers on the Bobcats. Terhune turned the ball over seven times, despite handling the ball less with the point guard tandem of Jones and Argentieri playing alongside her for most of the game.

BU will need to do more than just cut down on their turnovers for their next opponent. The Terriers will host the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday Dec. 21 at Case Gymnasium. Stanford is ranked No. 4 in the nation, and No. 1 in the RPI power rankings.