The Boston University women’s basketball team entered Saturday afternoon’s matchup against Lehigh University riding a five-game losing streak.
After falling behind early, the Terriers (8-13, 3-8 Patriot League) made a comeback, but were unable to secure the win against the Mountain Hawks (13-9, 7-4 Patriot League) and fell 65-56.
Much of the game was a back-and-forth affair. Ultimately, Lehigh was able to collect the win, largely due to its ability to cash in at the charity stripe. The Mountain Hawks went 20-for-23 from the free-throw line, while the Terriers only converted eight of their 16 free-throw attempts.
Lehigh jumped out to the early lead thanks to a three-pointer from sophomore guard Camryn Buhr just under a minute into the first quarter.
BU held the lead momentarily when junior guard Payton Hauck and junior forward Naiyah Thompson converted layups on consecutive possessions.
For most of the game, the Terriers focused on driving the lane and working inside the paint.
“We’re trying to attack the rim and get the ball in the paint where we live,” BU head coach Katy Steding said. “We got 34 points in the paint and that wasn’t on post ups. We’re getting there and we have to be able to finish shots and knock down some key shots.”
After the first half concluded, the Terriers had only attempted three shots from beyond the arc. Lehigh led for a majority of the first half, and a layup at the buzzer from sophomore forward Cameryn Benz extended its lead to 35-27.
The Terriers bounced back in the third quarter, outscoring the Mountain Hawks and closing their lead to just five points.
While it was difficult for BU to get on a consistent offensive run, senior guard Corrine Williams and sophomore forward Nia Irving added seven and six points, respectively, in the third quarter to help keep the pressure on Lehigh.
The Terriers’ defense also stepped up in the second half, preventing the Mountain Hawks from getting good looks in the paint.
Lehigh went 7-for-25 from beyond the arc, and Steding explained that was something her team had prepared for.
“Our game plan during this particular game was to defend the three-point line more adequately than how we’ve been doing in some recent games,” Steding said. “They shoot a lot of threes and we knew that was coming. We didn’t try to abandon our game plan or anything like that because we knew they were going to hit threes.”
Many of those three-point shots came from senior guard Quinci Mann, who went 3-for-8 from beyond the arc and contributed 18 points.
This was not the first time she caused the Terriers some problems. In BU’s last matchup against Lehigh in January, Mann dropped 21 points en route to her team’s 74-58 victory.
“She’s smart, she loves to score, she’s a good shooter,” Steding said of Mann. “They get her open and she has a way of getting herself open. She was able to create space for herself a couple times. She’s a good player.”
As the fourth quarter began, the Terriers trailed 49-44. A three-pointer from sophomore guard Vanessa Edgehill with 9:06 remaining shortened the Mountain Hawks’ lead to just two points.
BU was able to take a 52-51 lead with 5:11 remaining after another layup from Irving.
However, some costly fouls allowed Lehigh to get to the line, where it was able to convert 12 of its 13 shots. The Terriers were forced to intentionally foul, allowing the Mountain Hawks to gather a comfortable lead as the clock wound down.
“There were a couple of possessions at the end where we work on a particular shot or a particular person having the ball, and they either covered that up or we didn’t a good enough screen,” Steding said. “We didn’t get the shots we wanted at the end.”
Along with Mann’s performance, Lehigh was also lead by senior guard Bernadette Devaney, who scored 15 points, and went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe.
As for the Terriers, Irving led the team with 17 points, going 6-for-9 from the floor. Williams followed closely behind, contributing 13 points of her own, while freshman guard Katie Nelson added five assists.
BU will look to get back in the win column Wednesday night, when it takes on last place Colgate University at Case Gym.
“There’s been one quarter every game where they stretch us a little more than we should’ve let them,” Steding said. “We have everything we need in the room. We need to make sure we really can execute our offense at the right time and get the right shot and stay aggressive.”
