The Boston University women’s basketball team played a weekend series against Army West Point Saturday and Sunday in West Point, N.Y. The Terriers took the first match 59-45, but fell to the Black Knights 54-43 in the following game.
After a six-day break, the Terriers were slow to score at the start — BU didn’t get points on the board until the middle of the first quarter, with a layup by sophomore forward Maren Durant.
Once the Terriers got on the scoreboard, the Black Knights sank their third 3-pointer, which prompted BU to call the first timeout of the game.
The gap narrowed for the Terriers after a 3-pointer by senior guard Katie Nelson and four points from sophomore guards Sydney Johnson and Maggie Pina.
The Terriers continued to put their energy into scoring with junior guard Chiara Tibbett sinking her first 3-pointer of the year to give the Terriers their first lead of the game.
The first quarter ended with a four-point advantage for the Terriers after an impressive 11-point run in the last three minutes of the quarter.
Black Knights junior guard Natalie Stralkus consistently pressed the Terriers defense, scoring 12 points by the middle of the second quarter.
The Black Knights and the Terriers were tied at 21 before a free throw by redshirt junior guard Emily Esposito, which gave the Terriers a one-point advantage.
From there, the Terriers continued to edge out the Black Knights, entering the second half with a five-point lead.
After an attempt by the Black Knights to catch up, back-to-back buckets by Terriers sophomore guard Annabelle Larnard secured the Terriers’ lead before the first timeout of the second half.
The Terriers extended their lead into the double digits late into the third quarter with a 3-pointer by Pina.
That lead ballooned to 17 in the middle of the fourth quarter, as the Terriers dominated the end stretch. This advantage was the Terriers’ largest in the whole game.
Before Sunday’s match in West Point, N.Y., the Terriers were undefeated through five contests — their best start to a conference season since they opened 2012-13 conference play with six straight wins in the American East.
But, BU ended its winning streak with a loss Sunday.
The Terriers saw no significant offensive production from any one player — Nelson and Johnson both scored a team-leading nine points.
The Terriers shot an abysmal 16-59 (27.1%) from the field and a worse 5-25 (20%) from beyond the arc. The Terriers managed just 43 points: a season low.
The Black Knights shot 17-45 (37.8%) in their winning effort behind junior guard Sarah Bohn’s team-leading 13 points.
The Terriers did out-rebound the Black Knights, but could not keep up with their opponents’ offensive production through four quarters.
Game two featured strong defense for both the Terriers and Black Knights, but Army bested BU 54-43 in a low-scoring bout.
The Terriers’ series against Lafayette College this Saturday and Sunday has been canceled. The Terriers will enjoy 13 days off and will face the College of the Holy Cross Jan. 30 and 31.
