The Boston University women’s basketball team fell to the University of Connecticut in their first away game of the year Thursday night with a final score of 86-32.
Senior captain guard Alex Giannaros and sophomore guard Aoibhe Gormley led the Terriers (1-1) in scoring, with 13 and 7 points, respectively. But costly turnovers and UConn’s aggressive play resulted in a lopsided final score.
UConn, led by star senior guard and projected WNBA lottery pick Paige Bueckers, forced 33 turnovers and outscored BU 60-13 in the opening half.
With a long-standing reputation as a powerhouse in college basketball, UConn entered the season ranked No. 2 nationally, according to ESPN. The Huskies’ high-intensity play put an immediate strain on BU’s ability to maintain possession and get into a rhythm on offense.
“We never were really able to play half-court defense, and we were never really able to get our offense flowing because we were turning the ball over so much,” said BU head coach Melissa Graves.
UConn opened the game with an 11-0 run and a hounding full-court press, which slowed Giannaros early and led to 28 points off turnovers in the first half. UConn also broke off runs of 15 and 12 unanswered points in the first half, leading to a large deficit in scoring entering the third quarter of play.
In the first half, UConn’s stifling defense held Giannaros to 2 points, while Gormley led BU’s scoring with only 5.
The Terriers saw more success in the second half as UConn took off the press and adopted a half-court defense. After a few early turnovers from BU and a quick timeout from Graves, the team went on a 9-0 run in the third quarter.
“We were able to settle down a little bit, control the tempo,” Graves said. “We got some good things in transition, Aoibhe [Gormley] finding Alex [Giannaros] a few times, but we were also not just on our heels the whole time.”
After a 60-point first half from the Huskies, BU only allowed 26 points in the second half, which Graves credits to the strength of the team’s half-court defense. Despite failing to limit turnovers, the Terriers stayed competitive with UConn in the second half and found much more success scoring the basketball.
“It was just settling, focusing on smaller goals and calming down a little bit and realizing we could execute if we can take care of the ball,” Graves said.
Despite the loss, BU’s young roster showed resilience and potential against a top-ranked team. This loss will not impact the Terriers’ Patriot League Tournament chances because UConn is a non-conference opponent. Still, Graves said the experience provided valuable preparation for later in the season.
“This is a good preparation game moving forward,” Graves said. “One, how is it going to be in a championship setting? And two, what would you do differently? And getting better from there.”
BU has reached the Patriot League Final the past two seasons, falling to the College of the Holy Cross in both games. Graves believes the game against UConn will help prepare the young roster for postseason play.
The Terriers look to bounce back in an exhibition game against Emmanuel College on Nov. 12 at home. In their matchup against Emmanuel last December, BU took home a convincing win, finishing 80-47.
The team already has their sights set on next week.
“It’s just getting back to focusing on us, how we’re executing our offense, what we want to do defensively,” Graves said. “I’d like to just move on from this game [and] learn from it.”
