Women’s Basketball: Terriers Cross the Charles to Close Road Trip at Harvard

By: Andrew Mason

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — After a thrilling overtime victory at Delaware, Boston University has had little time to rest, as the Terriers are set to head back out to the battlefield to take on the 2-2 Harvard Crimson on Tuesday.

This is the first of only two times that BU will have to play a pair of games in three nights this season. Junior Payton Hauck, who is averaging a team-high 14.3 points-per-game, does not believe the short turnaround will hurt her squad.

“These are the situations we prepared for in the offseason,” Hauck said. “The majority of our offseason is spent getting in shape, therefore we’ve been here before.”

Nonetheless, Head Coach Katy Steding may need to dip into her bench more on Tuesday than she has in the Terriers’ first three contests.

After two straight losses to kick off the year, Harvard comfortably defeated Siena and Sacred Heart to maintain an undefeated home record. At 33 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from beyond the arc, the Crimson are not major shooting threats. But, they make up for their lack of accuracy by protecting the ball. Harvard averages 13.5 turnovers a game, a fraction compared to BU’s 22.3.

Sophomore guard Katie Benzan leads the Crimson team with 13.8 ppg and 2.3 assists-per-game. In 2016, it was Benzan who put the Terriers to sleep in their most recent matchup, grabbing 22 points off of seven three-pointers and a free throw.

In that contest, the scarlet and white jumped out to a 14-3 lead to start, but later gave up a 20-6 run to the Crimson after center Sophie Beaudry was forced to sit early with an injury. Harvard went on to win 65-52.

“There definitely is that revenge factor for the returners of the team when it comes to playing games we should’ve won last year,” Hauck said. “It definitely gives us an extra energy boost.”

BU takes on Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The matchup is the final one of a three-game road stand for the Terriers, who return to Case Gym after Thanksgiving.