The Boston University women’s basketball team suffered a road loss to the United States Naval Academy in yet another conference loss this season.
Coming off an energetic win against Lehigh University on Saturday, the Terriers (7-14, 5-5 Patriot League) were unable to transfer their momentum to fend off an equally determined Navy (16-5, 9-1 Patriot League) side. Furthermore, the Terriers could not equalize the series after previously suffering a close loss at home to Navy.
In the first half, BU played an aggressive game, getting the ball inside to junior center Sophie Beaudry. Also, there was solid perimeter passing that opened up pathways for sophomore forward Naiyah Thompson to drive and also allowed for senior guard Sarah Hope to shoot 50 percent from beyond the arc.
The Terriers played competitively in the first half and narrowed the deficit to just one point going into the second half. However, the second half did not bode well for BU.
Shooting only 12.5 percent from the field, the Terriers converted only three of their 24 second half shots. The dismal offensive performance was further worsened by a staggering 0-8 shooting performance from 3-point range.The offensive struggles were quite blatant as the team finished the game having shot 26.1 percent from the field.
On the defensive end, the Terriers tried to uphold their defensive bulwark as best they could, but their poor defensive rebounding allowed for Navy to put points back up on the board off of second chances.
“Navy played a really good game,” said BU head coach Katy Steding. “They came out to play and we weren’t ready. They out-rebounded us the entire game. I don’t think we played a good game from start to finish.”
By the end of the game, the Terriers had been outrebounded 48-38, an egregiously difference that could’ve been a game changer had the Terriers grabbed more boards themselves or boxed out on defense more efficiently. Surprisingly, nine of the team’s 38 rebounds came from senior guard Courtney Latham, while junior center Sophie Beaudry was only able to come up with two.
Unfortunately for BU, an inadvertent trend has appeared. The Terriers played well the first half, but could not sustain their rhythm and collapsed in the second half, as they have multiple times this season. They open games with crisp passing and decent field goal shooting accompanied by a stout defense. Although, in the second half, lackadaisical rebounding and low shooting percentages dig a hole the team often proves unable to climb out of.
The Terriers have found solutions to some of their more transient struggles, but have yet to correct the one that persists: rebounding.
In order to re-route themselves onto a winning path, the Terriers need to not only grab more boards, but also figure out how to transfer their first half vigor into the second half. Enhanced rebounding and prolonged energy could be the remedy the Terriers are looking for.
“We did not play a good game,” Steding said. “This game was very uncharacteristic of who we are and we just didn’t play our best out there.”
