She has relinquished her title as the team’s leading scorer. The America East Player of the Week honors have become a memory. But in her final home game as a member of the Boston University women’s basketball team last night, senior center Alison Dixon showed the skills and magic that made her the second highest scorer in team history.
In a second-half performance that ranks up there with the best of her four-year collegiate career, Dixon scored 16 of her game- and season-high 24 points after halftime. The Terriers rolled past cross-town rival Northeastern University, 73-58, to go into next week’s America East conference tournament on a winning note.
“I didn’t really want this night to come,” Dixon said. “I was a little sad beforehand. We started off the game a little rocky the first minute or two, but we definitely settled down. It was a great team effort tonight.”
After a solid first half with eight points and six rebounds, Dixon took over the game immediately after halftime. It took barely seven minutes for Dixon to double her first-half point total, as she hit four consecutive layups and a free throw at the start of the second half. Dixon would go on to triple that first half total as she finished with 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including an incredible 6-of-7 performance in the final 20 minutes.
It was the type of performance that Dixon has been known for since she came to BU four years ago after a standout career at Norwood High School in the southern suburbs of Boston. Dixon established Norwood’s all-time scoring record (male and female) with 1,317 points. She was named to the Bay State Conference’s First Team three times, as her high school teams went 77-16 during her four years and won three conference titles. Her AAU career was filled with even more success, as she led the Massachusetts Magic to three consecutive Massachusetts State AAU titles.
Former coach Christine Basile recruited Dixon to BU in 1997, and she didn’t disappoint, averaging 13.1 points per game her freshman year and winning America East Rookie of the Year honors. The next year, that number rose to 17.3 points per game as she was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. In her junior year, with a new coach in Margaret McKeon, she averaged 16.4 points per game and was named team MVP again. And while her scoring average had dropped down to 12 points per game this year, it is only because of the presence of freshman guard Katie Terhune, who has taken over most of the scoring load.
Unfortunately, Dixon hasn’t enjoyed anywhere near the team success that she had in high school and AAU. After winning over 82 percent of her high school games and winning all those championships, the Terriers have gone a paltry 30-80 during Dixon’s career and have never advanced beyond the second round of the conference tournament. BU may very well do a ton of winning in the coming years, but Dixon won’t be there to enjoy it.
But even though her career didn’t have as many wins as she would have liked, Dixon is happy to have been a part of the BU women’s basketball program.
“I’ve had a wonderful experience here,” Dixon said. “I’ve made wonderful friends, and I’ve played for good coaches. I would have loved to win a few more games, but I’ve definitely had a great experience here. I have no regrets.”
The fans who watched her for the last time last night didn’t seem to, either.
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