Women’s Basketball: Terriers Fall to Navy Despite Career-High from Williams
By: Andrew Mason
BOSTON — The Terriers game of catch-up turned out unsuccessful in Saturday’s contest against the Navy Midshipmen, as the road team knocked off BU by a final score of 64-59. The scarlet and white move to 8-20 overall, 3-5 in conference play.
In a game against the Patriot League’s second-best team, it was no surprise that BU’s senior captain duo was going to come out firing. Center Sophie Beaudry tallied her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds in her first game off the bench all year. Meanwhile, forward Corrine Williams snagged seven boards to go with a career-high 22 points off of 8-of-15 shooting from the field.
Despite the loss, Williams was still able to provide fans at Case Gym with an inspirational moment late in the game’s final minute.
Down 57-51, with 52 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Williams received the ball under the basket off an inbounds pass. As she put up a quick shot she was fouled hard, tweaking her ankle and falling to the ground. She stayed on the ground for about 10 seconds.
“Honestly, I just was hoping it wasn’t too painful to walk on because I kept telling myself, ‘you’re making these two free throws and finishing this game’,” Williams said.
She did just that. Williams sunk both shots, moving her point total to 22 and lighting a spark for her team in the final minute. The Terrier’s last ditch effort ultimately came up short, as they pushed their losing streak to three straight.
William’s commented that her ankle injury is “nothing serious,” and believes she should be fine with the exception of some swelling.
Sloppy basketball continued to be the story on Saturday for BU, who totalled 21 turnovers. Freshman guard Katie Nelson committed nine herself, a new career high, but grabbed nine points and two assists on the day.
The Terriers shot 38.3 percent, just below their season average of 40.9 percent. However, they remained disciplined throughout from beyond the arc, making six of their 13 attempted 3-pointers (46.2 percent).
Even with a large height advantage, BU posts had difficulty putting the rock in the basket against Navy sophomore Kaila Clark. The forward posed a threat on both ends of the court, hauling in 10 points, 12 rebounds and four emphatic blocks. Senior Hannah Fenske led all Mids scorers with 17 points to go with three assists.
BU has begun to make it a habit of starting quarters slowly, digging themselves a hole too deep to climb out of no matter how valiant a clutch performance may be. On Saturday, the Mids did most of their damage within the first few minutes of each period. On the offensive end, the Terriers did not connect from the field early on, which hindered their confidence and momentum.
“Once we eliminate our flat second half starts we should be okay,” WIlliams said. “Shots didn’t fall for us as a team at the start of the game, but they will fall. We have to keep taking them and getting to the rim.”
BU will have another shot this week to put a cap on the losing streak, as the 7-11 Lafayette Leopards come to town on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The Leopards have not found much success in Patriot League play themselves lately, as they have lost four of their last five conference matchups. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Case Gym.