Women’s Basketball: Irving Leads Terriers on the Road to Extend Win Streak to Three

By: Andrew Mason

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Boston University grabbed its third road win of the season on Sunday afternoon with a 57-41 victory against the University of Vermont Catamounts. The Terriers move to 5-2 on the season, the first time they’ve been three games above .500 since the 2012-13 campaign.

For the second contest in a row, it was sophomore forward Nia Irving who dominated the scoring for BU – particularly in the first 20 minutes. Irving’s 14 first-half points catapulted the Terriers to a nine-point locker-room lead at 31-22.

Irving would finish the night with 19 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. The performance secures her second double-double of the season, the fourth of her career, all the while averaging just 20.1 minutes per contest.

“I don’t feel a lot of pressure [whether I start or come off the bench],” Irving said. “I try to just go out there and do what I can offensively and defensively for the team.”

Irving got some help in the second half, as six other Terriers put points on the board in the final two quarters of play. Senior co-captains Sophie Beaudry (9 points, 12 rebounds) and Corrine Williams (7 points, 4 rebounds) dominated BU’s scoring inside the paint.

The Terriers, who averaged 73.3 points-allowed per game coming into Sunday, posted their best defensive performance of the year against Vermont. The 41 Catamount points were the lowest a BU opponent scored since March 2014.

After a 2-2 start to the season, the scarlet and white now boast a three-game winning streak.

“The biggest keys have been really locking down on defense and sticking to our principles,” Irving said. “We’ve also lowered our turnovers and have been making better decisions with the ball.”

On Sunday, BU posted a season-low 13 turnovers, just five in the second half. One major reason was the ball handling of freshman point guard Katie Nelson (12 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds), who turned the ball over only three times in 38 minutes of play.

Through the first seven games of the season, five contests have been on the road for the Terriers. However, BU will return to Case Gym this upcoming weekend to begin their first multi-game home stand of 2017.

“It’s going to be great to get back to Case,” Irving said. “We love playing in front of our friends and family on our home court. And having the band, cheerleaders and dance team really helps bring the energy up.”

The Terriers take on the Marist Red Foxes (1-7) on Saturday, Dec. 9, with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m.