The Boston University women’s basketball team remains winless after it suffering its sixth loss of the 2015-16 campaign to the University of Massachusetts Lowell by a score of 70-57 Tuesday night in Lowell.
The victory over BU (0-6) gave Lowell (1-5) its first victory of the young season. Despite the continuous string of defeat, the Terriers did have some bright spots emerge.
Junior guard Sarah Hope contributed 20 points, going 6-for-12 from 3-point range, but the rest of the team combined shot 0-for-6 from deep. In addition, graduate student guard Troi Melton had 16 points on 7-for-16 shooting.
Though it was not a victorious night for the Terriers, the production of Hope and Melton did not go unnoticed by BU coach Katy Steding.
“The bright spot for us is that Sarah found her shot and I thought she did particularly well finding space to get her shot off,” Steding said. “The girls did really well to get the ball back to her. When she hits one or two she gets really confident and really finds her stride.
“Troi is also someone we completely rely upon to penetrate and move the ball around,” Steding added, “and I think we are putting a little too much pressure on her to generate most of our production.”
The Terriers could not produce a good overall shooting performance, only shooting 34.4 percent from the field. Much of the poor shooting can be attributed to the fact that the Terriers have struggled to maneuver their way into the paint and get good looks.
The River Hawks, on the other hand, shot 42.6 percent on the night, which was enough to beat a BU team that has shot under 35 percent for the season.
Junior forward Meghan Green finished with four points and five boards, going 2-for-4 from the field. Sophomore forward Kara Sheftic tallied three points on 1-of-6 shooting. Steding is counting on Sheftic to “turn the corner.”
“Both players are very capable post players who just haven’t found their stride yet,” Steding said.
The Terriers were outrebounded 43-36 and were outshot from the free throw line 19-12. BU never held a lead throughout the game. The Terrier’s struggles can be attributed to the lack of physicality going to the rim and standing ground in the paint.
“I think UMass Lowell prepared for a gameplan very well,” Steding said. “We either dig ourselves a hole or let the other team dig it for us. One of the things we don’t really get is getting the ball inside and distribute while penetrating into the paint. We need to be able to handle and work out of pressure situations.”
Steding and her staff have faith in the players to turn the season around. There are many young Terriers who have already provided solid games this season. Hope and Melton are two of these players who showed their value against the River Hawks, but the cohesiveness and ability to move the ball well and defend as a team will come with time.
“I think we still aren’t showing what we are truly capable of,” Steding said. “The bright spot is that we are competing for a good portion of each games, but we just have to not let it get away from us.”
