The Boston University women’s basketball team won in dramatic fashion with a pair of last-second free throws to take down American University 58-56 on Wednesday night.
“I thought we did what we needed to do to win, obviously it wasn’t a pretty game by any sense,” BU head coach Melissa Graves said.
Senior guard Sophie Beneventine put the Terriers (16-9, 8-6 Patriot League) on the board first with a jumper.
Senior forward Caitlin Weimar and junior guard Alex Giannaros followed her up with two more layups to give BU an early 6-0 lead.
American (9-16, 7-7 PL) began to pick up scoring late in the first quarter, with sophomore forward Molly Lavin putting their first points up on the board.
The Terriers led by one after the first.
“It’s obviously not easy, trying to stay as calm as possible to keep them calm,” Graves said. “It’s like there’s a balance between getting on them and saying, ‘Hey, we are good, we are okay.’”
Starting off the second quarter Lavin connected on a three-pointer to put the Eagles in the lead.
American picked up 16 points in the second, outscoring the Terriers by more than double in the quarter.
Going into the third quarter, the Terriers were determined to shrink the eight-point lead American held.
Giannaros was on a mission, scoring back-to-back three-pointers less than 30 seconds apart.
“Knowing that we lost to them in double overtime, making sure that we ended the game as soon as we could,” Giannaros said. “I think it gives us a ton of confidence, especially talking about turnovers and rebounding.”
When it came to forcing turnovers, freshman guard Aoibhe Gormley excelled.
Halfway through the third quarter she stole the ball and scored, sparking the Terrier offense.
Sophomore forward Anastasiia Semenova and Weimar followed suit with points of their own and freshman Inés Monteagudo did the same, connecting on a three with less than two minutes left.
The Terriers were drawing close to American, down by just four points by the end of the third quarter.
Gormley had yet another steal followed by a layup, lighting up Case Gym. Her three steals in the game were crucial in BU’s comeback effort.
Giannaros finally gave the Terriers the lead with a three-pointer with less than two minutes left.
But American answered right away, with a three from senior guard Ivy Bales to tie the game at 56.
From there, the game remained scoreless until the final seconds.
After forcing a turnover, freshman forward Audrey Ericksen was fouled and sent to the free throw line.
She made one of two free throws, giving the Terriers the lead.
On the ensuing possession, Gormley fouled Eagle freshman guard Lexi Salazar, but Salazar missed both free throws.
Senior Kelsi Mingo connected on one of two free throws and after a missed three-pointer from American, the Terriers had completed the comeback, holding their ground until the last second and staying tight defensively to pull out a clutch win.
“I think we’re in a really good place right now, pulling out that win in such a tough environment,” Giannaros said.
The Terriers will now travel to play Loyola Maryland on Saturday at 5 p.m.
