The Boston University women’s basketball team lost on the road 72-57 to the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday night.
The Terriers (1-1) faced a challenging opponent, as the Wildcats (1-1) won their first America East regular season title last year, with a program best 26-6 record. Led by a lineup of seniors, the Wildcats proved to be a challenging force on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Both teams turned the ball over several times to start the game. However, BU was unable to generate many opportunities on offense, as the Wildcat defense proved strong and prevented the Terriers from moving the ball around and creating open chances.
UNH’s defense also exploited the Terrier’s defense throughout the game, as it was able to find open players beyond the arc as well as inside.
“I think we were okay in preparation, but we lacked ‘oomph’ on defense tonight,” women’s basketball head coach Katy Steding said regarding her team’s play against the Wildcats.
Terrier senior center Sophie Beaudry was specifically unable to provide offensive pressure from the paint as she came unto foul trouble early on. In the first half of action, she was limited to 2-of-3 from the floor.
The Wildcats were able to take advantage of BU’s 24 turnovers. Reigning America East Player of the Year Carlie Pogue went 8 for 9 and scored 18 points, while senior guard Olivia Healy scored twice from beyond the arc, adding 15 points of her own.
“It was clear we got a little off with all the traveling calls inside,” Steding said. “Our posts are better than that that, they just didn’t show it tonight. Traditionally, our offense has come from great defense and when we did get defense tonight, it translated.”
As the game went on, the Terriers began to gain momentum, taking advantage of the many fouls UNH made. Sophomore forward Nia Irving went 8 for 8 from the free throw line in the first half.
The Terriers scored many of their points via the free throw, converting 20 of their 25 opportunities for the game, and Irving managed to tie the game up at 26 with just over two minutes left in the first half.
Steding commented on the things she hopes to improve upon in the young season.
“Hitting screens better, keeping the ball moving, getting more off ball movement,” Steding said. “We just seemed flat tonight.”
The Wildcats started to run away with the game in the fourth quarter, continuing to expose the Terrier defense. Sophomore guard Caroline Soucy came off the bench and added six points of her own, while Pogue continued to be a presence in the paint.
The Terriers will look to rebound on Sunday when they take on University of Delaware.
Delaware (1-1) have beaten the Terriers 19 out 27 meetings. The last team two teams met was in 2006 with Blue Hens coming out on top 79-59.
The loss for the Terriers drops them to .500 to start the young season, but there were plenty of positives for Stedding to take away from the game, such as Payton Hauck.
Hauck put up 16 points in the losing effort, and Steding commented on the offensive start her junior guard has gotten off to.
“Payton was a bright spot,” Steding said. “You know she’s very explosive so we are going to have to keep getting her the ball in great space for her to do her thing.”
