After falling behind in the first half of its game against Stony Brook University, the Boston University women’s basketball team ended a three-game losing streak on Sunday, escaping with a 72-68 win against the Seawolves.
The Terriers (13-12, 10-3 America East) started off slowly, falling behind the Seawolves (5-20, 2-11 AE) 12-26 after the first 8:50. However, BU fought its way back to end the first half, and pulled ahead in the final few minutes of the second.
“We clawed back,” said junior forward Caroline Stewart. “We showed some toughness in the end. That was a really physical game.”
Stony Brook began with intensity, which led to a few early Terrier turnovers and a 14-3 run for the Seawolves.
“We have to come out better to start the game,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “We can’t let a team like this feel comfortable in our gym or in their gym. That really has to be our mindset going into our final two games.”
When the gap between the two teams became 26-12 in favor of Stony Brook, though, BU turned to its shooters to score points. Junior guard Alex Young and sophomore guard Chantell Alford combined for a 9-2 run for the Terriers as they drew closer at the midway point in the first half. BU fought its way back to a 36-40 deficit going into halftime.
The story of the second half was sophomore guard Kristen Sims, who came off the bench to score 11 points in the final 13 minutes of the game. Sims scored a total of 15 points, and was named AE Player of the Game.
“We just got the ball to [sophomore guard] Mo [Moran] or Chantell and I just went where it was open, and they got me the ball and I would finish it,” Sims said.
Sims scored a layup with 10:55 remaining in the game to give the Terriers their first lead since the opening minute, and also hit a clutch 3-pointer to put the game out of reach for Stony Brook in the final three minutes.
While the Terriers did win the game, they remain a half game behind first-place University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The Retrievers held onto their spot at the top of the America East Conference by defeating University of Hartford on Sunday, 53-48.
BU enters its final two games against Binghamton University and University of Vermont needing two wins to have a chance at the first seed in the AE Tournament. Binghamton is only one game behind BU in the standings, and is also looking for revenge after losing to the Terriers at Agganis Arena earlier in the season.
“I’m very excited about it because it is going to be a championship-style environment,” Greenberg said. “It will be physical and I hope we will be more ready than we were today. It was good for us.”
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