Women’s basketball uses second-half turnaround to beat Crimson

In the Boston University women’s basketball team’s come-from-behind 63-62 win over Harvard University Tuesday, the team used strong effort on both sides of the ball in the final half to come out victorious.

Sophomore forward Meghan Green led all scorers with 19 points, but the Terriers (1-1) received contributions across the board. Redshirt junior guard Troi Melton added 11, sophomore guard Courtney Latham added nine and freshmen forward Kara Sheftic had seven points. Sheftic’s play on defense was also crucial down the stretch.

BU coach Katy Steding said after the game that her team, composed of mostly underclassmen, has shown improvements in a short period of time.

“We’re a young team,” she said. “It’s taking a while for us to find our identity, but I think we’re getting there.”

The Terriers reversed a 12-point halftime deficit despite being held scoreless for the game’s first six minutes because of an all-around team effort.

Steding said she was proud of the way her team responded to this adversity and maintained its focus.

“These guys respond to coaching every time, whether it’s intense coaching or a pat on the back,” Steding said. “I’m happy with the way they responded. I never questioned their effort. I know their effort is always strong. A second-half team for me is much better than a first-half team, so I’m happy with that.”

Offensively, Green went 6-of-9 from the floor and finished 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. Despite being a sophomore, she emerged as a leader on the floor Monday night and helped BU outscore Harvard 40-27 in the second half.

“We kept each other fired up,” Green said. “It was just really important to keep going and not let them [Harvard] get the lead.”

This comeback came one game after BU was in a similar position against Northeastern University in its season opener Friday. In that contest, BU was unable to top the Huskies in a one-point defeat. But this time, BU’s scorers and interior defenders clamped down during the stretch.

“We just kept playing with maximum effort,” Steding said. “We played the same, but our buckets were just finally going in, and we were clicking on defense. I just had to stick with who was hot and go from there.”

An essential component of this second-half surge came from the play of Sheftic, who consistently faced strong post play from Harvard’s (1-1) 6-foot-4-inch forward Temi Fagbenle. Despite the fact that Fagbenle finished the game with 12 points and 14 rebounds, Steding said Sheftic limited Harvard’s presence in the interior.

“Kara did an amazing job,” Steding said. “I thought that she was solid. The instant you tell Kara something, the instant you tell her change this and do it this way, she applies it immediately. That’s a joy to coach. It really is.

“She doesn’t question things. She just accepts it, does it and gets to work. She’s physically tough. She’s got a great frame. She’s got a lot of upside and potential. She’s learning to be a scorer, and she’s strong. She’s learned really well.”

After a season in which the Terriers finished seven games under the .500 mark, Green said she is embracing the opportunity to prove people wrong early in the 2014-15 campaign.

“I want us to come out stronger than everyone expects us to be,” Green said. “People are going to look at our record last season and judge us based off that. We’re a different team. We have a lot of different strengths, and I want to be able to use those.”