Army West Point guards Trinity Hardy and Camryn Tade combined for 39 points to give Army West Point a 59-52 victory over Boston University in a Patriot League showdown at Case Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
CLAIRE GUEST/DFP PHOTOGRAPHER
“I thought we were the better team for three quarters,” said BU head coach Melissa Graves. “We showed that we could compete for a championship for three quarters, [and] I thought the first half was a tremendous defensive effort.”
Hardy led the Black Knights (13-3, 5-1 Patriot League) with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Resse Ericson contributed significantly with four assists.
On the other hand, the Terriers (7-10, 1-5 PL) relied on sophomore guard Inés Monteagudo Pardo, who netted 12 points. Sophomore guard Bella McLaughlin had four assists, while sophomore forward Sisi Bentley added eight rebounds despite the defeat.
With the first period winding down, the Black Knights mounted a 5-0 run, narrowing the gap and closing the quarter with the Terriers holding a slim 10-9 lead, having converted six of their eight attempts in the first period.
Tade scored a two-pointer to kickstart the second period, and Monteagudo Pardo responded with three to give the Terriers a two-point lead 13-11. The teams exchanged leads for the next few minutes, but when Monteagudo Pardo hit another three-pointer, BU pulled ahead 18-15.
The Terriers concluded the second period with a 10-0 run of their own, entering halftime ahead 25-15, despite double-digit turnovers in the first two frames.
“Turnovers are something that we focus on everyday in practice. I thought we were better in the second half to cut those in half. It’s something we need to grow into and continue to do better,” Graves said.
At the midpoint, freshman forward Allison Schwertner and Monteagudo Pardo led the Terriers with six points each, the former finding further success off the boards with her six rebounds.
McLaughlin and junior forward Anete Adler each contributed two assists, and the duo of McLaughlin and senior guard Alex Giannaros were a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.
As the second half began, both teams traded baskets until Hardy converted a two-pointer and completed a three-point play to cut the deficit to seven.
On the edge of a shot-clock violation, Schwertner drained a three-pointer to reestablish a double-digit advantage.
The Terriers still held a solid eight-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The last quarter opened with Tade sinking a three from the left, putting the score at 46-41 and mounting tension as BU’s lead continuously shrank. Two free throws from Ericson made it a one-point game by the 6:35 mark.
BU found itself still trailing by three with under five minutes to go. The Black Knights extended their momentum when Tade landed another three-pointer. Army forward Kya Smith extended the deficit to eight-points with a pair of free throws.
In the final minutes of the game, the Black Knights withstood the Terriers’ comeback efforts, capturing victory with their fourth-quarter comeback.
The Terriers will aim to rebound from the weekend’s loss as they prepare to face Navy at home on Wednesday, with tipoff scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
