The Boston University Women’s basketball team hosted the United States Naval Academy for BU’s 71-56 senior day victory Saturday.
After a close first half, the Terriers (14-10, 9-4 Patriot League) pulled away in the third quarter to secure the win over the Midshipmen (7-17, 2-11 Patriot League), which extends BU’s winning streak to six games.
Prior to tipoff, BU honored the seniors playing on both sides for senior day, bringing them out to half court for a ceremony. Nia Irving and Vanessa Edgehill were the two Terriers celebrated along with four Navy players.
Irving put on a clinic in the paint throughout the entire game, scoring a season-high 22 points in an efficient shooting performance, going 10-for-13 from the field.
BU Head Coach Marisa Moseley applauded Irving’s play and willingness to take minutes off as the senior deals with a knee injury.
“I think she’s done a really good job of putting herself in the position to try to be ready and when her name is called to answer that call,” Moseley said.
Although the Terriers did end up coming out with a comfortable win, the first half did not indicate a blowout. BU looked out of sync offensively with only three players scoring until the middle of the second quarter as the Terriers only led 30-27 heading into the break.
Freshman guard Maggie Pina paced the Terriers in the first quarter, making her first three 3-pointers for nine of BU’s 15 first quarter points. Freshman forward Maren Durant was another bright spot for BU in the first half as a defensive force, as she created shooting difficulties for Navy using her height advantage.
Navy freshman guard Nyah Garrison kept the Midshipmen within striking distance in the first 20 minutes with nine points.
Moseley said the halftime message to the team was about finding a sense of urgency to finish the game strong and to be the team they truly are.
“The team that we’ve been, and been building the last five games, we haven’t shown yet,” Moseley said “So we wanted to make sure that we were able to execute and show what we’re capable of.”
Coming out of the break, the Terriers started to click both offensively and defensively. The Terriers shot an efficient 60 percent from the field in the second half while limiting Navy to just 40.7 percent.
Although the team shot a season-high 53.8 percent from the field, Moseley said she was more impressed with how her team handled different defensive schemes.
“Our rotations in our zone have been really good, our kids have kind of commited to talking and communicating, which is half the battle when you’re playing a zone,” Moseley said. “The ability for us to kind of move in and out of man and zone and switch things up and keep our opponents on their toes I think has really helped us.”
BU was aggressive in the second half, going on a short 6-0 run to open, giving them a 36-27 lead, a lead that they were able to maintain for the rest of the game. Garrison was able to give the Midshipmen 23 off of 8-for-9 shooting but it was not enough for the Mids.
Junior guard Katie Nelson and Irving took over the game for the Terriers, combining for 38 points.
The momentum shift at the beginning of the 3rd quarter carried BU to its sixth straight win, but Moseley said she was still unsatisfied with her team’s play while holding a lead.
“I think one [thing to work on], is learning how to protect our lead and play with a lead,” Moseley said. “I think we’ve gotten a little better but still need to work on.”
BU will stay at home for their next Patriot League match against the fourth seed Lafayette College (12-11, 8-5 Patriot League) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The Terriers are currently tied for the second seed in the Patriot League.
Last time BU and Lafayette played, the Leopards beat the Terriers at the buzzer.
Moseley said the Leopard’s 6-foot-3-inch forward Natalie Kucowski will be one to score, so the team must shut down the other players on the floor.
“She’s going to get hers, but you can’t let the other guys beat you.”
They’re playing well now when it really counts.
Go BU!