In its final home game of the regular season, the Boston University women’s basketball team came out victorious, defeating the College of the Holy Cross 68-56.
The Terriers (12-16, 10-7 Patriot League) played a well-rounded game, but it was their offense that propelled them to the win against the Crusaders (8-20, 6-11 Patriot League).
BU shot extremely well from the field, ending the game at 54 percent shooting, well above its season-average of 40.6 percent.
While the Terriers had many offensive contributors, junior center Sophie Beaudry and sophomore guard Payton Hauck stood out as the two most potent weapons throughout the win.
Beaudry made her first five field goals to start the game and continued her dominance all the way through the fourth quarter. She finished with 21 points on 9-12 shooting.
BU head coach Katy Steding was thrilled with Beaudry’s play, largely because the entire team had done a great job of feeding the ball inside to Beaudry and other post scorers.
“We made a real strong point to say, ‘We must get the ball inside to be successful,’” Steding said. “It has to be a team focus, not just a point guard focus or a wing focus. And it’s not just Sophie, it’s [senior forward Meghan] Green when she’s in there, it’s [junior forward] Kara [Sheftic] when she’s on the block.”
The paint-scoring focus has yielded great results for the Terriers all season long, and tonight was no different. The Terriers poured in 40 points in the paint, dwarfing Holy Cross’ 18.
While Beaudry dominated the game from the low block, Hauck took over from all areas of the court. She played 27 minutes off the bench and shot 6-8 from the field, racking up 12 points and six assists. She also pulled down nine rebounds, including four offensive rebounds, several of which led directly to points for either her or a teammate.
Hauck shone the brightest in the third quarter, a quarter in which BU has struggled with all season long. The Terriers led 36-26 at the half, but faltered immediately after halftime, allowing Holy Cross to bring the game within one possession.
Hauck kept the Terriers afloat, making key passes to set up teammates, taking rebounds away from larger Holy Cross players and attacking the rim with confidence.
Steding had high praise for Hauck and felt that the energy she brought to the third quarter was just what the team needed to close out the win.
“I think anytime you’re playing with a lead, and you start to play a little tentative, especially with a team that doesn’t have as much experience with being in the lead,” Steding said. “We have to rev them up and get them aggressive again, and they responded. And they’ve been responding really all semester, and that’s great for us. It bodes well for the future.”
It was Hauck’s most impressive performance of the season and was a promising display on senior night from an underclassmen who will be charged with taking over the program after the seniors depart.
Prior to the game, BU held a brief ceremony for its three seniors: guards Sarah Hope, Courtney Latham and forward Meghan Green.
While the thought of their departure was on everyone’s mind, Hauck’s performance was a timely one, particularly in the eyes of Steding.
“I think we have tremendous athleticism coming up,” Steding said. “And the nice thing is, they’ve gotten an opportunity to learn from Courtney and Sarah about game management, shot selection, making sure you put the ball in the right place, how to control the team. To see Payton and [sophomore guard] Lauren [Spearman] come in and really shore us up, that really makes me feel good.”
