Women’s Basketball: Terriers fade late, lose 88-57 to Boston College

By: Ethan Fuller

BOSTON, MA — Despite drawing to within single digits in the second half, Boston University women’s basketball fell victim to a dominating performance from Comm. Ave rival Boston College, losing to the Eagles 88-57. The Terriers drop to 3-6 on the season with just two games left in their nonconference slate, while BC moves back up over .500, sitting at 6-5.

The Eagles controlled the matchup with a furious game pace, especially in transition, where BU struggled to keep up. BC scored 12 fast break points to the Terriers’ zero, and held a stunning 34-12 edge in points off turnovers. The speed and physicality of Marnelle Garraud, Makayla Dickens and more proved devastating in the open court.

Scoring came from everywhere for the Eagles; five players cleared double-digit points, with Garraud and Taylor Soule leading the way at 15 apiece. Seven BC players also cleared five rebounds on the afternoon, making up the bulk of the team’s 46 total boards.

The 20 turnovers and disparity on the glass became the two glaring red flags for Boston University. These troubles came to light almost instantly — BU committed a bizarre turnover on an inbounds play that helped spark a 22-5 Boston College game-opening run.

BU did battle back in the first half. Once the team found their footing against a tough full-court press, they got into their offense and made plays, bringing the score to a 40-30 halftime deficit.

A Riley Childs three-pointer later brought the Terriers within nine points of the Eagles — then the wheels fell off. BC put up 48 points in the second half, scoring transition bucket after transition bucket.

For the Terriers, Katie Nelson was the bright spot offensively, scoring 16 points and adding four assists. Nelson seemed to play more off-ball in this game than usual and took advantage by attacking frequently on the baseline.

Outside of Nelson, the starters struggled to the tune of 7-30 combined shooting. In the blowout, head coach Marisa Moseley went deeper into her reserves and found some positive moments off the bench. Junior Tenisha Pressley, whose calling card is her defense, made an impact offensively by scoring eight points and making four of her five shots.

Mackenzie Miers also provided solid spot minutes. The junior big played eight minutes, and while she made little impact on the box score, Miers fought inside against strong BC forwards and battled for multiple loose balls.

Overall, Sunday’s matchup serves as a valuable learning experience for BU, whose tough non-conference schedule features two more home games against Dartmouth and Northeastern. The first, Saturday at 2:00 p.m., sees the Terriers take on a Dartmouth team that struggles to score points but locks down opponents on defense.

For the Terriers, they’ll need to harness the offensive flashes that shone in the first half of Sunday’s contest while cutting down on needless turnovers.

Featured image courtesy of Hannah Yoshinaga.