University of Maryland-Baltimore County junior Carlee Cassidy and freshman Katie Brooks combined for 52 points against the Boston University women’s basketball team last night in Baltimore.
Unfortunately for the dynamic duo, the effort was a wasted one, as the Retrievers’ upset bid of the America East regular-season champions fell short in a 73-65 BU victory.
The Terriers (21-6, 15-0 AE) tied a program record for wins in a season, despite a porous showing by BU’s defense in the first half. Led by Brooks’ 19 first-half points (the freshman finished with 28), the Retrievers shot 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from the field in the first frame, including 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) from 3-point land. Aided by 12 first-half points off turnovers and an 8-0 run midway through the half, UMBC (14-15, 6-10) took a 30-28 lead into the break.
BU opened the second half on a 12-1 scoring run, building a 40-31 lead about six minutes into the second stanza. UMBC chipped into some of the lead, thanks almost exclusively to Cassidy scoring 21 of her 24 points in the second frame.
But the Terriers’ lead never got smaller than two points the rest of the way. An old-fashioned 3-point play by senior forward Jesyka Burks-Wiley with 1:07 left put BU up by seven, effectively icing the win for the Terriers ‘-‘- their 16th straight.
Burks-Wiley garnered BU’s America East Player of the Game award, amassing 18 points and pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. Her performance was key down the stretch for the Terriers, as the senior overcame foul trouble to register 11 second-half points, including six in the game’s final five minutes.
The performance, as impressive and important as it was, falls simply under the ‘typical’ category for the standout senior. On the season, Burks-Wiley is averaging 18.1 points and 7.5 boards per contest, and during conference play, the Kansas City, Mo., native has led the America East with 19.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Along the way, Burks-Wiley has collected five America East Player of the Week awards.
Burks-Wiley wasn’t the only hero last night for the Terriers, as classmate Kristi Dini made her presence known with 5-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc ‘-‘- and 0-of-1 shooting from inside it ‘-‘- to collect a team-best 19 points. The senior guard was perfect from the foul line (4-of-4) and tossed in five assists to boot.
Two other seniors got in on the hand-helping party, as Christine Kinneary dished out five dimes and Amarachi Umez-Eronini threw out six assists of her own. For comparison, UMBC players combined to hand out five helpers total.
Cassidy and Brooks carried the load for UMBC because no other Retriever could fit more than six points on their respective shovel. The pair combined to shoot 14-of-32 (43.8 percent) from the field ‘-‘- including 4-of-9 from 3 ‘-‘- and a precise 20-of-22 (90.9 percent) from the charity stripe. The rest of the squad shot an abysmal 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) from the field and attempted exactly zero free throws.
Game Notes: BU’s .607 free-throw percentage last night fell well below its .720 percent clip for the season. ‘hellip; The Terriers outrebounded UMBC, 40-28, and outscored the Retrievers, 26-18, in the paint. ‘hellip; With a win Saturday against the University at Albany, BU would complete the fifth perfect regular season in America East history.
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