While junior guard Sarah Hope sank 3-pointers from distance en route to a career night, the rest of the Boston University women’s basketball team had trouble finding the net Wednesday.
Despite Hope’s career highs in both points (23) and 3-pointers made (seven), BU (0-8) could not collect its first win of the season against the University of Rhode Island.
In the opening five minutes of BU’s first game back on campus since before Thanksgiving, just two points were scored. The layup off the left hand of Rams (4-4) guard Dominique Ward was emblematic of the shots both URI and BU would need to win the game, as two staunch defenses featured prominently.
It wasn’t until more than seven minutes into the game when Hope drained her first 3-pointer that the Terriers broke into the scoring column. It was the only BU field goal of the quarter, as its other three points came from the foul line.
The skirmish continued well into the second quarter. While both teams traded shots, it was Hope’s nine points from deep that led a 17-8 second quarter, bringing the Terriers into the locker room with the lead for the first time all season.
BU coach Katy Steding said she was proud of the way her team played in the first half, particularly on defense.
“The first half was great in terms of execution and in terms of boxing out,” Steding said. “ … It felt like we were controlling the boards better. We controlled the tempo in the first half.”
Familiar tidings caught up with BU in the third quarter, though. Again, Hope was the only one on the Terriers to find twine, while the Rams followed the lead of Ward and forward Samantha Tabakman, outscoring the Terriers 17-3.
Despite eight more points from Hope in the final quarter, the Terriers were unable to regain the lead. Hope finished the night 7-for-17 from deep, accounting for 56 percent of the Terriers’ total offense.
“She’s a great shooter and we’ve got to have her on the floor,” Steding said of the Medway native. “I thought having her in the starting lineup, getting her the ball, had a really calming presence out there. I thought she was a lot more measured than we’ve been in the last few games.”
While Hope shined Wednesday, the rest of the BU squad had a rough night. Graduate student guard Troi Melton, the team’s third leading scorer, went 0-for-10 from the field.
Senior guard Clodagh Scannell struggled as well. While she converted on one 3-pointer, she missed several easy shots, including a layup, on her way to a 1-for-5 night. She’s shooting just 16.1 percent from the floor this season.
Despite the tough loss, Steding remains optimistic about her team moving forward.
“And I’m so excited about that because we’ll compete to the very end,” Steding said. “They didn’t kill us with anything other than good old-fashioned execution and grit. We can match that.”
