Women’s Basketball: Third Quarter Struggles Lead to 59-57 Terrier Loss

By Michael Wax

Boston University women’s basketball’s winning ways at home came to a halt on Sunday afternoon, with the Terriers falling 59-57 to the University of Maine (2-3, 0-0 AEC).

BU now sits at 2-2 on the season.

​​”Obviously disappointing for us coming off the Boston College win,” BU Head Coach Melissa Graves said. “There’s definitely things we’re gonna [talk] about tomorrow, watch film and try to get better.”

The game turned around in the third quarter, as UMaine’s defense limited BU to two baskets on 12 shots — turning a 29-21 BU lead into a 41-38 deficit at the end of three quarters.

BU went 6-for-14 (46.4%) from the free-throw line, its worst output from the charity stripe this season. Graves said she knows the team has to be better when given free attempts at points.

“They need to shoot free throws on their own a lot more,” Graves said. “So I think it’s just taking the ownership and accountability of getting more free throws on their own if they’re not making them.”

Junior point guard Sydney Johnson led BU with 12 points, and she was one of four Terriers to reach double digits. Her play sparked a BU comeback attempt in the 4th quarter.

“She’s obviously someone that we always count on day in and day out to bring us offense and defense,” Graves said.

Senior forward Riley Childs led the Terriers with 11 rebounds and three steals while completing her first double-double of the season by adding 11 points.

​​”I told the team during certain timeouts that we needed energy on the floor, so she was trying her best to bring that kind of energy,” Graves said.

Energy is something the Terriers never lacked, even throughout UMaine’s run in the third quarter. BU junior guard Liz Shean said she understands how important it is to maintain spirit, which is something she looks to bring in every game.

“I think we just needed energy on the floor, and that’s always something that I’ve always tried to bring,” said Shean. Shean’s 5-of-6 shooting day helped BU keep pace with UMaine, even during the more difficult stretches of the game.

The Terriers posted 22 turnovers, their most in a game this season. Shean thinks the team had the right idea, but bad decisions led to the wrong results.

“I think we try to really share the basketball, we’re a very unselfish team,” said Shean. “Sometimes we get a little bit caught in that regard.”

UMaine junior Anne Simon led the Black Bears with 26 points, her highest point total of the season. Simon was one of only two Black Bears to reach double digits, and the only one to surpass 15 points.

The end of the game saw an intentional foul from Johnson on Simon, who hit both of her free throws to give UMaine a lead that would stick.

“I think [Johnson] misunderstood the score,” Graves said. ”I’m not really sure what happened there.”

BU will look to bounce back on Wednesday, November 24 at noon against Yale at home.