Women’s Basketball: Terriers overcome schedule change, cold shooting to beat Lafayette
By: Ethan Fuller
Returning from a three-week layoff, with two days of notice on who the opponent is, seems like a challenge.
It certainly was for Boston University women’s basketball. But the Terriers fought through a stingy Lafayette zone defense and used a 23-8 fourth quarter to take home a 53-46 win. BU improves to 6-1 in Patriot League play and maintains its top spot in the PL North division, while Leopards fell to 1-5.
A week ago, few knew the situation surrounding this matchup. Boston University had paused all athletic activities through the remainder of January. Entering Friday, the plan was to return to action with two home contests against Colgate. Then, when the Raiders could not meet minimum player eligibility requirements, that became a single road game against Lafayette.
So both teams received short notice for their matchup, and it showed in the low-scoring affairs. Neither side shot particularly well, but the Terriers in particular could not buy a bucket from long range. They went just 2-for-19 on the afternoon and did not hit a three-pointer until Maggie Pina cashed in during the fourth quarter.
For most of the game, it was a battle of zone defenses. BU used an aggressive stance on the perimeter to force 23 Lafayette turnovers, finishing with 22 points off of those giveaways. The Leopards countered by pressuring BU into difficult passes and keeping the Terriers from penetrating the zone. They forced 18 turnovers of their own from the Terriers.
Midway through the third quarter, Lafayette appeared to be wrestling away control of the game with a 33-23 advantage. But the Terrier offense finally kicked into gear. BU finished the game on a whopping 30-13 run — including the 23-8 fourth quarter.
Sophomore guard Sydney Johnson led the Terriers on the scoreboard with 12 points, followed by Katie Nelson and Maren Durant (10 apiece). Nelson went just 1-of-5 from the field, but cashed in from the charity stripe, making 7 of 10 free throws. Five different Terriers corralled multiple steals, led by a whopping five swipes from the sophomore Pina.
On the Leopards’ side, star forward Natalie Kucowski was the only player to reach double figures. She finished with 10 points, but it took 14 shots for her to get there, as Durant and Riley Childs did a nice job of neutralizing Kucowski’s three-level scoring prowess.
Looking ahead is a misleading task at this point given the roller coaster of scheduling in 2021. But right now, BU is slated to play Army — the one squad yet to miss a weekend — this Saturday and Sunday. Tip-off for Saturday’s affair is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.