The Boston University women’s basketball team fell to Patriot League leader Bucknell 66-50 Saturday afternoon. Bucknell (16-3, 8-0 Patriot League) was able to stretch their win streak to 11 games, while the Terriers (6-13, 4-4 Patriot League) dropped their second straight tilt.
Despite an aggressive defensive effort, BU’s inability to finish off defensive possessions proved fatal in a game that was neck-and-neck until the later stages of the third quarter. A number of defensive issues plagued the Terriers throughout the game, but defensive rebounding was apparent from tip-off.
The Terriers surrendered six offensive rebounds to Bucknell in the first quarter and continued to struggle on the glass throughout the game, as the Bison finished with 16 offensive boards. Bucknell outshot BU 32-25 in the first half, and took a two-point lead into the locker room.
“[The offensive rebounds] were something that we talked about, but they continued to get offensive boards in the second half,” said BU head coach Katy Steding.
Rebounds seemed to be a bit of a lost cause for the Terriers, as they were constantly overshadowed by any of Bucknell’s eight forwards, all of whom are over six feet tall.
The Terriers’ strong defense, particularly inside the paint, kept them in the game. They stifled the Bison’s offense, limiting them to a 28 shooting percentage in the first half. In addition, the Terriers outscored Bucknell in the paint 36-24 in the game and won the turnover battle.
BU turned up the defensive pressure even more in the second half, employing full court pressure and backcourt double teams at various points during the third quarter. The Terriers did force several turnovers during the third quarter, but these efforts proved fruitless as BU surrendered 21 points in the quarter and entered the final frame down double-digits.
To make matters worse for the Terriers, senior guard Sarah Hope picked up her fourth personal foul with several minutes left in the quarter, forcing her to sit out during the game’s lone turning point.
While Steding likes to turn up the pressure on defense, she acknowledged that it did not work as well against Bucknell as it had in previous contests.
“We’ve been fortunate with our pressure in some other games, but Bucknell is very structured, very disciplined and strong, and you can’t depend on your pressure to change the game,” Steding said. “You might get four or six extra points out of it, but you’re not going to get a 15 or 20 point run against a team like Bucknell.”
When the pressure on defense failed to yield results, the game began to get away from BU. In the fourth quarter, Bucknell expanded their lead from 11 to 16 points. The Bison showed ability to score from almost anywhere on the court, and BU was unable to defend Bucknell’s interior scorers and outside shooters at the same time. The Bison’s 54 percent shooting in the second half powered a lead that proved insurmountable for Steding’s squad.
Despite the disappointing result, the game was promising for a young BU team. They went toe-to-toe with the best team in the Patriot League in the first half. They still need to figure out how to play that way for 40 minutes before they can truly threaten top-tier teams.
The Terriers will have a whole week to refocus their defense as their next game is Jan. 28 against a struggling Lehigh University team. Defense will be key in that game, as BU was able to win their previous matchup against the Mountainhawks (6-13, 1-7 Patriot League) by holding them to just 34.4 percent shooting.
Despite defensive issues, especially in the second half, Steding maintained a positive outlook.
“I can’t fault our girls for trying.”
Hey Owen. Bucknell only used four players over 6 feet tall in the entire game – DeBoer, Slagus, Swart, and Mikkelsen. A fifth played the final few seconds.