Women’s Basketball: Terrier homecoming goes smoothly in 82-41 win

By: Ethan Fuller

For Boston University women’s basketball, there was truly no place like home on Saturday.

The Terriers hosted an opponent at Case Gym for the first time since Jan. 5, and earned a home win in historically dominant fashion. They used a 42-9 first half onslaught to bury Army early, and went on to win 82-41 with a gap that reached 47 points in the second half.

“I think our pace was really good,” said head coach Marisa Moseley. “Once we got into a flow, the game just kind of slowed down for us.”

BU (7-1) avenged its only loss of the season, which came at Army (9-9, 6-7 PL) back on Jan. 17. The 42-9 start was the fewest points allowed by a Terrier defense in a half since joining the Patriot League. At one point, BU went on a 35-1 run to blow the game wide open in the first half. The Black Knights made just 2 of 21 first half field goals.

The Terriers’ stingy defensive unit was firing on all cylinders. Maren Durant and Riley Childs walled off the interior; BU outscored Army 46-16 in the paint. This allowed the backcourt trio of Katie Nelson, Sydney Johnson and Maggie Pina to pressure the perimeter and generate turnovers — a major strength throughout this season.

“We don’t want to let people run their offense and just stand there and guard them,” Moseley said. “If we can disrupt their offense, if we can jump in a passing lane, if we can not allow them to reverse the ball — because if you can’t … you’re not really able to execute, generally speaking.”

Sophomore sharpshooter Maggie Pina led all scorers in a resurgent game with 15 points in 24 minutes. The 2019-20 Patriot League Rookie of the Year has battle shooting woes this season, and Moseley hopes today’s performance restores some rhythm.

“She’s a really confident shooter,” Moseley said, “so the one thing during this [slump] is, it didn’t stop her from shooting.”

BU’s entire sophomore class got involved on Saturday. Among the starters, Sydney Johnson also added 10 points, while Durant contributed 8 points and six rebounds. Annabelle Larnard came off the bench for 5 points and five boards. And Liz Shean, who has played sparsely this season, had a career-high 12 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting day.

With the nature of Saturday’s game, the Terriers emptied out their bench. Freshman guard Sophie Beneventine got the first extended action of her collegiate career, beating the shot clock with a late three-pointer to score her first points in a BU jersey.

A quick Sunday turnaround sees these two teams square off again at Case Gym. Tip-off on Valentine’s Day is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.