With a chance at its first winning streak since March 2014, the Boston University women’s basketball team couldn’t capitalize on that opportunity, and fell 59-51 to the University of New Hampshire Monday night at Case Gym.
Coming off their first victory of the season last Saturday against the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the Terriers (1-5) carried the same momentum into the opening quarter against the Wildcats (4-2). After BU squandered an early lead, though, it was never able to regain it.
UNH junior Brittni Lai led all scorers with a game-high 19 points and six assists. Fellow junior Carlie Pogue also troubled the BU defense, as she went for 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Coming out with an aggressive full-court 1-3-1 zone defense, the Terriers forced seven first-quarter turnovers on their way to an opening 10-0 run.
Already trailing by double digits, Wildcats head coach Maureen Magarity was forced to take a timeout just 3:31 into the game.
The Terriers started the contest with a smaller lineup, opting to use junior center Sophie Beaudry off the bench, and it paid off.
Beaudry entered the lineup midway through the first quarter and immediately made her presence felt by dishing out an assist to junior guard Corinne Williams, putting the Terriers up 12-4.
“Tonight’s decision [regarding Beaudry] was based on talking with the staff,” said BU head coach Katy Steding. “Sophie’s coming off a concussion, so we had to go forward with the lineup that we knew was going to be in place because she just got cleared today.”
UNH closed out the first quarter on a 9-6 run, which was spearheaded by the play of forward Kat Fogarty, who scored five of those points.
The Westminster native finished the game with 15 points and was 1-of-4 from downtown. She currently ranks third on the team in scoring, with 10.5 points per night.
The Wildcats’ hot hand continued into the second quarter, as they rallied off 12 straight points to take a 21-16 lead with 6:34 remaining.
Despite its offensive woes, BU was able to stay in the contest, and went into halftime down only four points.
BU’s stifling zone formation enabled the pairing of sophomore forward Naiyah Thompson and senior guard Sarah Hope to connect on back-to-back 3-pointers to trim the deficit to 39-34.
A Pogue jumper with just under 30 seconds remaining put the Wildcats up 41-34 going into the final quarter of regulation.
The Terriers began the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run to knot the game at 44-44 with 4:38 remaining, but UNH would pull away soon after that.
New Hampshire guard Peyton Booth answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession to shift the momentum back to the visitors.
“I know we weren’t as focused as we needed to, and once [UNH] started to score we had trouble adjusting and stopping them from scoring,” Steding said.
Down 49-46, an untimely Beaudry travel gave the Wildcats a chance to retain a two-possession advantage, and closed out the contest on a 10-5 run.
Steding expressed disappointment with her team’s aggressiveness in the second half, but BU will have a chance to get back in the win column on Saturday in Arizona.
“We knew that we have success when we’re more aggressive,” Steding said. “What makes us more aggressive is being active in our press and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
