In a similar fashion to their opener against Northeastern University, the Boston University women’s basketball team was knocked down by the State University of New York at Albany by a score of 83-43 Wednesday night.
After the team conceded a challenging lead in the first half, the freshmen for BU (0-2) stepped up.
In Albany (2-0) and BU’s first meeting since the latter left the America East conference for the Patriot League, BU looked like it could keep pace with an Albany squad that’s won five consecutive conference titles. Despite getting outscored by 10 points in the first quarter, the Terriers played the Great Danes close defensively. However, it was their offense that let them down.
Just like against Northeastern (2-0), the wheels fell off for the Terriers in the second quarter.
BU struggled mightily to put together good looks at the rim. In the first half, only two Terriers — senior guard Troi Melton and junior forward Meghan Green — converted on multiple field goals. Collectively, the Terriers shot less than 27 percent in the first half and they were weighed down by junior guard Sarah Hope’s 1-for-7 tally from behind the arc.
Albany dominated inside all night, outscoring the Terriers 52-12 in the paint. The Great Danes forced 27 turnovers, compared to 16 for BU, but the big difference came in points scored off turnovers. Albany outscored BU 31-4 in that category.
Compared to their first half of play, BU was able to keep it close in the second half, thanks in part to the play from the Terrier freshmen. Freshman guard Lauren Spearman came in at the end of the first half unable to get any looks, as the Great Danes were playing at a relentless pace. Spearman then came in later in the second half and immediately started scoring.
Just seven seconds after being subbed in, Spearman drained a three off the dish from Hope. In her five minutes of play in the third quarter, Spearman scored nine points and recorded one rebound.
After the game, BU coach Katy Steding had nothing but high praise for her newest guard.
“She came out with her shot ready,” Steding said. “She’s a talented player. We’ve been waiting for her to kind of get it together on the floor, but she’s going to be a good leader and a good ball-handler for us.”
Steding later said that while Spearman got hot Wednesday night, the Terriers “have to get more pieces to the puzzle” in order to win games.
As a whole, the team got much better on offense as the game progressed. Spearman’s fellow freshman, forward Naiyah Thompson, added five second-half points. After missing constantly from 3-point range in the first half, Hope responded by going 2-for-4 from behind the arc in the second half.
Hope, Green, Spearman and Thompson all tied for the team lead with nine points each. Together, they played a big part in bringing the team’s shooting percentage more than 30 percent for the first time this season.
While there were encouraging signs from several freshmen and returning players, the Terriers have shown that they’re far from a finished product. They’ll need to improve and the next chance to do that comes Saturday against Boston College.
