Women’s Basketball: Nelson Leads Terriers to OT Win at Delaware

By: Andrew Mason

NEWARK, DEL. — In just her third collegiate game, freshmen Katie Nelson came in clutch for the scarlet and white on Sunday, grabbing a game-high 25 points and hitting a 23-foot dagger with 34 seconds left in overtime. The shot propelled Boston University to a 85-79 victory over the University of Delaware on Sunday. Wkth the win, BU Women’s Basketball moves to 2-1 on the year – now 1-1 away from Case Gym.

In the overtime period, Nelson nailed a left-handed layup to make it 81-78 in favor of BU. Less than a minute later, she received the ball on the left-wing off of a kick-out pass, and launched up the game-clinching 3-point shot.

“[The shot] felt good,” Nelson said. “Everyday in practice we encounter tight end-of-the-game situations, so it just felt natural.”

Nelson added seven assists and four steals to her performance. In 41 minutes of play, she also recorded five turnovers, her second game with at least five this season.

Coming into the contest, the Terriers’ offensive emphasis centered on taking care of the basketball. As a team, BU continued to struggle, turning it over 22 times.

The 85 points were the most BU had scored in a road victory since Jan. 16, 2013, in a 85-54 win at Maine. On Sunday, the Terriers shot 28-58 (48.3 percent) from the field, as well as 20-25 (80 percent) from the charity stripe.

“Shots fell today because we executed the plays and made some great reads,” Nelson added.

Senior co-captains Corinne Williams (15 pts, 9 reb) and Sophie Beaudry (13 pts, 8 reb) led an efficient frontcourt for the Terriers. Junior Payton Hauck contributed 12 points to record double-digits for her third time in as many games this season.

BU allowed star Blue Hen, junior Nicole Enabosi, to get going offensively. She raked in 19 points and 17 rebounds in 38 minutes of play. Nonetheless, the Terriers forced Enabosi to commit nine turnovers. Delaware sophomore forward Samone DeFreese threatened the Terriers with a near triple-double, pulling in 24 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

For the Terriers, defeating Delaware was a confidence booster for a team that struggles against nonconference opponents. BU already has as many nonconference wins (2) this season, as they did in all of 2016-17.

“[Today] showed what we are capable of,” Nelson noted. “As a team we stuck together and threw the first punch, and everyone contributed to the win in some way.”

Looking forward, BU needs to clean up its second quarter defense. Although they were able to make up for it on Sunday, the Terriers have been outscored in the last two games, 51-28, in the second quarter.

The Terriers finish off their three–game road trip across the Charles River as they play the 2-2 Harvard Crimson on Tuesday night. The contest tips off at 6 p.m. at Lavietes Pavilion.