The Boston University women’s basketball team played competitively with the best the Patriot League has to offer for the majority of its Wednesday night game, but ultimately American University was able to pull away for a 66-50 win.
It was a slow start for both teams, especially the Eagles (14-4, 7-0 Patriot League), who began the game shooting just 2-of-8 from the field and 2-of-6 on three-point attempts. BU (8-9, 3-4 Patriot League) was able to force American into some poor shots early on.
However, later into the first quarter, both teams found their groove offensively. For the Eagles, junior guard Elina Koskimies connected on four three-pointers to lead all scorers. Senior guard Corrine Williams was the most potent for the Terriers, as she scored 10 of their 14 first quarter points.
BU head coach Katy Steding said she was pleased with how her team played for the most part.
“I felt like [Williams] was the definition of ‘ready to play’ tonight,” Steding said. “She trusted herself tonight. She stepped up and it is a good thing she did because we needed her for her tenacity and her scoring ability.”
American extended its lead to six courtesy of a buzzer-beater from sophomore guard Katie Marenyi, who also had two assists in the quarter.
Sophomore forward TaeKenya Cleveland had the hot hand for the Eagles early in the second quarter. Cleveland was entirely responsible for a 5-0 run that put American up 25-14 and led Steding to call a timeout.
The Terriers had a much better end to the second quarter, as they were able to cut the Eagles’ lead from as many as 12 down to four and BU ended the first half trailing 30-26.
The Terriers utilized the free throw line to help the comeback, with sophomore forward Nia Irving seeing four of her six first half points come from the free throw line.
BU also dominated in first half rebounds, accumulating 23 rebounds to American’s 14. Williams had six while sophomore guard Vanessa Edgehill had four, both more than any Eagles player.
The Terriers cut American’s lead to as few as two early in the the third quarter, but weren’t able to get the bucket they needed to knot the game or take a commanding lead.
The Eagles got some momentum back by forcing turnovers, including three from junior forward Naiyah Thompson.
The back and forth continued until the end of the third quarter as BU caught up to American — this time cutting the deficit to four, but once again the Eagles responded with a big run of their own.
Steding said she did not think it was the team’s best game execution-wise and wants to see more attacks toward the basket.
“Our guards need to be more aggressive going towards the rim and getting into the paint,” Steding said. “With the exception of Nia Irving, we didn’t really have much presence inside tonight. That is an area where we really needed some help tonight.”
The Eagles were able to open up their largest lead of the game to end the quarter, leading the Terriers 53-39 after senior guard Emily Kinneston notched seven points in the quarter for American.
BU’s sloppiness with the ball made it difficult for the team to get back into the game. The Terriers had 22 turnovers to only 11 for the Eagles.
American was also able to separate from BU with its shooting from behind the arc. The Eagles shot 50 percent of their three-point field goals, connecting on 12-of-24 attempts. Koskimies did most of the damage for American, hitting seven three pointers to lead all scorers with 24 points.
However, it was a different story for the Terriers, who only shot 5-for-12 on their three pointers.
American led nearly the entire game, and while the Terriers got the score close a few times, the Eagles ended up with a comfortable 66-50 win.
Despite the loss, Steding remained optimistic following the game. She said in the pregame that she wanted see her team play really hard, and she thought they did exactly that.
“I talked about playing hard and competing every possession,” Steding said. “For a long time, that really kept us in the game. They game never really felt like it was out of reach, and I think American felt the same way.”
