In the second meeting between the Boston University women’s basketball team and the University of Vermont, BU remained undefeated in conference play by overcoming the aggressive play of its opponents.
The 72-64 win extends BU’s winning streak to nine games, which began nearly a month ago when the Terriers (16-6, 9-0 America East) defeated the Catamounts (9-14, 3-7 America East) in Vermont on Jan. 4.
“We didn’t play one of our better games,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “I give [Vermont] credit. They crashed the boards and they played hard. They were scrappy.”
Junior guard Chantell Alford paved the way for the Terriers with a season-high 28 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the 3-point range, as well as 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. The junior poured in 18 points in the second half despite being sidelined after a hard foul in the closing minutes of the game.
Vermont was aggressive from the opening tip, grabbing nearly twice as many rebounds as BU in the first half. However, the Terriers remained tough on the floor, forcing 12 turnovers while committing only six of their own. At the end of the first 20 minutes, the Catamounts held a five-point lead, and were shooting 45 percent from the field, significantly better than BU’s 30 percent.
The second half started with the two teams rapidly exchanging threes. After about six minutes of play, Alford put the Terriers on top with a couple of free throws. Two possessions later, senior guard Alex Young was called for her fourth foul, and was relieved by junior guard Kristen Sims. Young would eventually foul out with less than 10 minutes left in the game, allowing Sims time to accrue six rebounds and dish out two assists.
Following several lead changes in the middle of the half, foul trouble haunted the Terriers once again as senior forward Caroline Stewart committed her fourth foul. However, the 6-foot-0 tall forward remained in the game and would proceed to make a clutch steal, which led to her own bucket and the Terrier lead.
With BU in the lead 66-60 and three minutes remaining, Alford was taken down hard on a slash to the basket. A hip injury forced her to come out of the game, but the Catamounts were in desperation mode. They fouled junior guard Mo Moran twice in the next two minutes, who would hit 3-of-4 free throws, solidifying the lead.
Sophomore forward Whitney Turner supplied essential defense off the bench for the Terriers. In the final three minutes, she swatted three shots from the paint by Vermont players. The Catamounts resorted to shooting from the outside, but missed their final 3-point attempts of the game.
In such an aggressive game, Greenberg pushed the importance of the little things.
“It’s something as little as getting the ball inside and pushing it to Rashidat,” Greenberg said.
Sophomore forward Rashidat Agboola finished the game second in points scored with 14. She also pulled down six rebounds.
One key factor in the change of momentum in BU’s favor was shot selection. The Terriers were able to convert nearly 52 percent of their second-half field goals, and finished the night hitting 8-of-12 3-pointers.
“We take open shots, whether or not they are threes,” said Greenberg. “We’ll take 30 threes in a night as long as they’re open.”
This victory also keeps BU undefeated at home. On Saturday, they travel to New York to take on Binghamton University.
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