Women’s basketball tries to snap four-game skid in game against Lehigh

The Boston University women’s basketball team will look to break out of a four-game skid Saturday when they take on Lehigh University at Case Gym.

Last time out, the Terriers (4-16, 1-8 Patriot League) fell to the United States Military Academy Thursday. Winners of their last five games, the Black Knights (14-5, 6-3 Patriot League) demonstrated why they have been such a force this season, as they put on an offensive clinic against the Terriers and won 65-40.

The Black Knights jumped out to a 13-5 lead with 11:53 left in the first half, and never surrendered it. Things only got uglier for the Terriers, as guard Kelsey Minato finished the first half with more points (20) than the entire BU team (15).

Down 20 at the half, the game looked like it was over, but the Terriers continued to fight back.

“I thought we had a better second half,” said BU coach Katy Steding. “We only lost by five. I thought we played a lot harder in the second half. I might have said some things in the locker room that lit a fire or two. So, I hope that has something to do with it, cause otherwise, I’m wasting my breath.”

The two teams exchanged buckets for the majority of the second half. What really did the Terriers in was their perimeter defense, as the Black Knights shot 48 percent from 3-point territory (13-27). Add in another 30 points from Minato, and you end up with the Terriers’ 16th loss of the season.

Meanwhile, the Mountain Hawks (14-5, 6-3 Patriot League) have put together an impressive first half of their conference campaign, and are currently streaking, as they have won three of their last four games.

“They’re a good team,” Steding said. “But we have to prepare for them like we prepare for everyone else. We just have to look past today’s game. We can’t dwell. But we do have to get better. I can’t say that enough.”

In their last game, the Mountain Hawks took on a strong Bucknell University team. The two teams are in the upper tier of the Patriot League standings, among other teams, and it showed in the first period, as they went into halftime tied at 32.

The second half was a different story however, as the Mountains Hawks quickly pulled away with a 20-8 run. Lehigh came out firing from 3-point land, as it knocked down their first six attempts.

Bucknell (13-7, 5-4 Patriot League) seemed defeated, but continued to fight, as it pulled within seven points with 6:38 left in the game. That was as close as they would get though, as Lehigh eventually pulled away, and finished the game with a 15-point win.

Lehigh is led by forward Lexi Martins, who had 24 points and 13 rebounds in the win and is the team’s leading scorer with 15.6 points per game as well as leading the team with 11.4 rebounds per game. Forward Kerry Kinek is also a strong scorer for the Mountain Hawks as she averages 12.2 points per game while leading the team in 3-point percentage.

The second half demonstrated Lehigh’s tremendous ceiling. When the Mountain Hawks are firing on all cylinders, they are a force to be reckoned with. This spells bad news for the Terriers, who cannot seem to catch a break.

“Look, we just have to take it one game at a time,” Steding said. “We have to take care of this. I think we’re getting a little complacent, and I really don’t like that. Hopefully I’ll light up a few more fires before games, and we’ll get this thing turned around.”