In the wake of a long offseason – one that saw a complete overhaul in coaching staff and the departure of three seniors – the Boston University women’s basketball team was finally ready to get its 2014-15 season underway Friday afternoon against Northeastern University.
In the season’s inaugural game, the Terriers (0-1) were just barely edged by the Huskies (1-0) in a 75-74 contest.
The game was a battle from the very start, as neither the Terriers nor the Huskies could seem to get a solid string of scores together. Senior forward Mollie McKendrick eventually made her presence felt on the box score, scoring eight points in the first half. BU coach Katy Steding said she is impressed with how McKendrick has performed as a leader on the Terrier roster.
“Mollie’s been doing a really great job,” Steding said. “She’s got a big job in front of her. Not only does she have to carry a significant portion of the scoring load, but she’s got to kind of be the heart and soul of the team emotionally, and kind of be a physical enforcer, so she’s got a big job in front of her, and she’s doing a great job.”
After a 7-1 run in the final minute of the half, the Terriers trailed, heading into the locker room by a score of 37-32.
In the second half, after trailing 42-34 with 18:41 to play, the Terriers went on to tie the score following a 10-2 run that culminated with a layup from junior guard Troi Melton that came with 14:07 to play. After trading blows again for the next few minutes, the Huskies took their biggest lead of the night at 62-53 with 8:15 left on the clock.
After taking a 72-71 lead with just under three minutes left, the Terriers were not able to keep the Huskies at bay. Junior guard Clodagh Scannell sunk two free throws with just under a minute left to bring the lead to three, but it would be the Terriers’ final lead of the game. Huskies forward Samantha DeFreese converted on her first free throw with 16 seconds left. She missed her second attempt, but Northeastern snagged the rebound, leading to a layup from center Francesca Sally that sealed the game.
McKendrick got a shot off as time expired, but it didn’t go in, and the Terriers suffered their first loss on the year.
In her Terrier debut, Steding said she was proud of the way her team played.
“We really did pretty well, [but] there are a lot of things that we can do better,” Steding said. “And I thought we did really well executing our transition offense, and that’s really where we want to spend a lot of our time, so that went well.”
While McKendrick, Scannell and sophomore forward Meghan Green all finished with double-digit point totals (19, 14 and 11 points, respectively), the Terriers faltered in the second half. BU’s field-goal percentage dropped from 44.4 percent in the first half to just 36.1 in the second.
On the other side of the court, Northeastern was able to make the most of their opportunities, sinking just under 50 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half.
Going forward, Steding said the Terriers need to improve both at the free throw line and at realizing who they are as a team.
“Clearly, we could shoot better from the free throw line,” Steding said. “Our girls are really good free throw shooters. They were just tight… Definitely [need to improve] offensive execution, being able to be in the right places at the right time with each other defensively and knowing our individual responsibilities as well.”
