Completing its fourth season sweep of a Patriot League opponent, the Boston University women’s basketball team successfully downed the College of the Holy Cross 68-56 Saturday afternoon to continue its turnaround season and resurgence on Senior Day.
“I thought we got off to a really good start,” said BU head coach Katy Steding. “Emotions always run high, so you worry if they’re going to be out of control emotions or if they’re going to be good emotions. It was nice to see we came out on fire.”
On senior night, honoring guards Sarah Hope and Courtney Latham and forward Meghan Green, the Terriers (12-16, 10-7 Patriot League) cruised to victory over the Crusaders (8-20, 6-11 Patriot League), which improved the Terriers’ home record to 8-6.
Green, a Bedford, New Hampshire native, scored five points and pulled down three rebounds in her first start of the season. Green was a major player during her sophomore and junior campaigns, but with the emergence of junior center Sophie Beaudry and forwards junior Kara Sheftic and freshman Nia Irving, Green’s minutes have decreased. However, her value to the team remains incalculable.
“I thought Meg came out and played really well,” Steding said. “For someone who hasn’t gotten as many minutes this year [as she did last year] she just took advantage of the opportunity and did great for us.”
The Crusaders fell after coming into Case Gym with a two-game win streak in hand after beating American University and Loyola University Maryland.
Hope opened the contest with one of her signature 3-point jump shots, while Beaudry dominated the first half, scoring 13 points on 6-7 shooting and blocking two shots. The Terriers jumped out to an early 18-4 lead, but faltered slightly, as the Crusaders narrowed the score to 18-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Hope finished with 15 points in 35 minutes, knocking down three triples to keep pace with her season average of 3-pointers made per game (three).
With a 36-26 halftime lead, the Terriers advantage was chipped to just two midway through the third quarter after Holy Cross guard Tricia Byrne converted a jump shot to make it 45-43.
Latham sat out her second-straight game due to injury, but sophomore guards Lauren Spearman and Payton Hauck made strong contributions in her absence.
Spearman made her only shot in 13 minutes of play. The Los Angeles, California native stepped in for Latham’s ball-handling role, acting as a solid placeholder.
Hauck poured in 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks in 27 minutes of play off the bench, including a soaring tip-in at the beginning of the fourth quarter. That tip-in was one of her team-high four offensive rebounds
“We’ve been talking about what big shoes Courtney left to fill,” Steding said. “I thought both Lauren and Payton came in and did a really great job. We need those guys to step up. We need them to come into their own and be ready to lead the program next year from the guard spot.”
The Crusaders were lead by Byrne, who scored 16 points, and freshman Lauren Manis, a Franklin native, who scored 13 points and collected six rebounds in 37 minutes. However, Holy Cross was without the leading scorer — guard Infiniti Thomas-Waheed.
Beaudry was named Turnpike Trophy game MVP, scoring a game-high 21 points and swatting away five shots to go along with four rebounds.
Steding was proud to see her seniors shine and hopes that the underclassmen will begin to grow into the leadership voids that Hope, Latham and Green will leave behind.
“[The underclassmen] have gotten to learn for a couple of seasons now from Courtney and Sarah from game management to shot selection, making sure you put the ball in the right place and how to control the team,” Steding said.
