After a week of rest, the Boston University women’s basketball team returned to the court Saturday afternoon, defeating Lehigh University 64-50 at Case Gym.
In the final matchup between the two teams this season, the Terriers (7-13, 5-4 Patriot League) took a commanding lead in the second quarter and never looked back, sweeping the season series against the Mountain Hawks (6-14, 1-8 Patriot League)
After suffering a heartbreaking overtime road loss to Colgate University and a subsequent blowout loss to Bucknell University at home, the Terriers needed a win to revitalize their momentum as the second half of the conference schedule gets underway.
BU started double-teaming on defense to force Lehigh into shooting contested jump shots. In previous games, its overaggressive defense had been exploited. However, it worked well against the youthful Mountain Hawks.
In the first half, Lehigh shot only 5-16 from the 3-point line and 30 percent overall. Furthermore, Lehigh’s efforts to score inside were limited despite grabbing six offensive rebounds.
In addition to the stout defense, the Terriers regained their recently lagging offensive energy. BU had a field goal percentage of 53.6 in the first half, shooting 15-28 from the field and obtaining a thirteen-point lead going into the halftime break.
“I thought this was one of the few games that we’ve had a nice first half,” said BU head coach Katy Steding. “We didn’t dip, and I thought we sustained our energy. We’re still working on things, but I think our players gave us a real boost today”.
In the second quarter, the Terriers started to use defensive pressure in the half-court to force several steals, a strategy that continued into the second half.
BU forced 24 turnovers overall, 16 of which were steals that resulted from tight defensive pressure in the half-court or double-teaming in the paint. However, the Terriers still struggled to turn those forced turnovers into points, as they only created 21 points off turnovers.
Though the defensive aggressiveness did not translate into many points, it still slowed down the Mountain Hawks’ momentum and did not allow them to go on any runs, which allowed the Terriers to walk away with a double-digit victory.
On offense, several players provided BU with a boost. One-third of the offensive production came from the bench, as it scored 23 points. The bench was important in retaining the team’s lead and giving the starters much-needed time to rest.
Steding attributed much of the offensive success to junior center Sophie Beaudry. Beaudry used her height advantage not only to just score, but also to draw double-teams inside and then kick out to her teammates for 3-point field goals and long-range jumpers.
“We tried to take advantage of the height difference,” Steding said. “[Sophie] is very solid. She is very mature with her passing. She doesn’t get happy feet and is able to see everybody on the floor, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s 6’5”.”
The Terriers fired on all cylinders against Lehigh Saturday afternoon. Defensive pressure and dispersed offensive production contributed to a renewed energy and discipline that they look to build on in upcoming games.
However, the most exciting plays of the game did not come from disciplined play, but rather from buzzer beaters. BU hits two buzzer beaters, each at the end of the first and second quarters. The crowd’s elated reaction after the last-second shots fueled the team to come out in the following quarters with an added boost.
“It’s particularly meaningful for this team,” Steding said. “We need those kind of plays to give us some ramp up for the next quarter.”
