In its second road game of the week, the Boston University women’s basketball team fell to Lehigh University by a score of 67-54 on Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.
The loss brings the Mountain Hawks (10-11, 3-7 Patriot League) even with the seventh place Terriers (8-15, 3-7 Patriot League) in the conference standings.
BU registered the first points of the contest on a jumper from senior forward Rashida Agboola just 27 seconds after the opening tip-off. Junior forward Mollie McKendrick followed up with a jump shot of her own 30 seconds later and then tacked on another two points half a minute later to put the Terriers up 6-0.
Freshman Kayla Burton got Lehigh on the board 11 seconds after McKendrick’s bucket with a 3-point shot and then the Mountain Hawks tied the game about a minute with another 3-pointer, but BU was quick to pick up the slack as Agboola and McKendrick hit back-to-back jumpers for the second time in the opening half to extend the BU lead to four.
With 14:09 left in the half, the Terriers were able to pad their lead and able to grab an eight-point edge.
However, the Mountain Hawks followed with an 11-2 run, which gave Lehigh the lead for the first time in the game with 8:46 left in the half. Lehigh held that lead for the next four minutes before the Terriers reclaimed it briefly. Although BU had taken the lead, the Terriers surrendered it back to the Mountain Hawks again with 1:48 remaining.
As the buzzer sounded to end the first half of action, BU trailed 29-27. The team hit nine of its 28 field goal attempts, went 3-of-12 from 3-point land and dropped 6-of-9 from the charity stripe.
BU came right back out in the second and tied the game 15 seconds into the half on a layup by Agboola. A jumper by forward Kerry Kinek kept BU at bay, however, regaining the lead for Lehigh twenty seconds later.
The teams traded points for the next four and a half minutes, with the Mountain Hawks still holding fast to the lead and widening the gap to nine points before BU netted six unanswered points to pull within three.
Senior guards Danielle Callahan and Melissa Gallo were responsible for the push, each hitting a 3-pointer to bring the score to 41-38 in favor of Lehigh.
Although the Terriers stayed in the fight and kept the deficit relatively manageable, by the time the clock showed 1:28 left to play, the Mountain Hawks had a 12-point lead and wound up extending it to 13 by the time the final whistle blew.
By the end of the game, BU’s field goal shot percentage had not changed from the first half of play. The Terriers made nine of their 28 second half attempts, the same success rate they had in the first. They also hit another three 3-pointers in the second half, and sunk six of their free throw attempts, just like in the first half of play. Despite the effort and 27 points in the half, it was not enough to overcome the Mountain Hawks.
Callahan finished the night with a team-high 19 points and seven assists, three shy of a double-double. The senior made four of her five free throw attempts and drilled three of her 3-point shots.
Agboola was the only other Terrier in double digits, recording 10 points on the night. Senior forward Whitney Turner led the way on the glass, leading the team with nine rebounds.
The Terriers will next face the U.S. Naval Academy Wednesday night at Case Gymnasium.
BU coach Kelly Greenberg was unable to be reached for comment
