Coming off a close loss to start the season, the Boston University women’s basketball team returned the favor in its home opener Tuesday night at Case Gymnasium against crosstown rival Harvard University.
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
In a back-and-forth game, the Terriers (1-1) erased a 17-point first-half deficit, coming back to stun the Crimson (1-1), 63-62.
Harvard scored quickly from the get-go when forward Temi Fagbenle hit a layup on the Crimson’s second possession. That was just the beginning of a tumultuous run for the Terriers, as Harvard jumped out to a 14-0 lead and hit six of its first 10 shots.
As strong as Harvard’s play was on the offensive end, BU has just as much trouble on its own offensive end. The Terriers’ first field goal did not come until about four minutes into the half.
“We need to work on that,” said BU coach Katy Steding of the offense. “We came out playing hard, but we just weren’t hitting shots. It was a rough start to say the least. They were hitting them, and we weren’t. But I never questioned our effort. We knew our shots would go in eventually.”
BU’s overall team defense also struggled to contain the Crimson in the opening half, and the Terriers found themselves down 20-5, nine minutes in. Harvard was especially strong from behind the arc, scoring three of its first five 3-point shots.
Despite the lackluster start, the Terriers crawled their way back into the game. After a free-throw make by sophomore forward Meghan Green with 6:43 left in the half, BU cut Harvard’s lead to eight points.
Harvard responded with a run of their own, as they pushed the lead to 32-16 with 3:52 remaining in the first half. BU’s physical play led to costly fouls and multiple Crimson chances at the free-throw line. The free throws allowed Harvard to go into halftime with a 35-23 lead.
From the start of the second half, though, the Terriers looked like a different team. They cut the deficit to five points 90 seconds into the half. Green was a difficult matchup for the Crimson, as she finished the game with 19 points.
But every time the Terriers got close, the Crimson would respond with a run of their own. With 10:23 left in the second half, Harvard pushed its advantage back up to 48-37, and it looked as if the Crimson would pull away.
The Terriers had other plans, though, embarking on a 16-3 run over a period of six minutes. The stretch was capped off by a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Sarah Hope.
“I’m just so proud of our girls,” Steding said. “No matter what the score was, we never stopped fighting. And I honestly believe that fight will keep us in any game. I love the heart they show out there. Everyone did a great job today.”
Following the first lead change of the game, the two teams continued to trade buckets. Sophomore guard Courtney Latham came up big in the final 1:30, hitting two layups to preserve the BU lead.
Harvard continued to fight, and the outcome came down to one final possession. The Crimson, down by one, had the ball baseline-out with just 4.3 seconds to go. They passed the ball into Fagbenle, who threw up an errant shot as time expired.
As happy as Steding was to get her first-career win as BU’s head coach, she said she hopes the rest of the wins are not as close.
“We need to stop playing one-point games,” Steding said. “I’ve had enough of that. But I really like the way our team played today. We’re just so young and raw, we don’t even know what kind of time we are right now. Everyone’s play decides their minutes. I can’t bench people that are producing. So, I really think we’ve barely scratched the surface on what we could become.”
When I'm not crying about another Geno Smith turnover, I am covering sports for The Daily Free Press. I am a New York Jets, Mets and Knicks fan, so I do not know what winning is. Please, have mercy and follow me on Twitter at @MannyGomezz
