Women’s Basketball: Lehigh bests BU in rematch

By Hannah Yoshinaga 

Boston University women’s basketball found itself on the losing end of a game against Lehigh for the third time in a row Saturday, falling 68-65 to the Mountain Hawks at home.

Lehigh (15-6, 7-3 PL) remains in third place despite the win. With the loss and a win by Holy Cross against Army earlier in the day, the Terriers (13-9, 9-2 PL) are now tied with the Crusaders for the best record in the Patriot League.

BU put up 30 points in the second quarter but had trouble maintaining an edge on offense the rest of the matchup, ending with a 37.6% shooting percentage from the floor.

One particular area in which the Terriers stumbled was in the paint, where they were outscored 44-30.

Freshman guard Alex Giannaros was a bright spot for BU, finishing with 22 points — two shy of her career best — three steals, two rebounds and an assist. Giannaros also hit her first four three-point shots, going 4-f0r-6 on the afternoon.

Junior guard Sydney Johnson, last week’s Patriot League Player of the Week honoree, contributed 19 points and an assist.

Yet, several other Terriers failed to find the same level of success. Sophomore center Caitlin Weimar went 3-for-12 and junior guard Maggie Pina finished the game scoreless on five shot attempts.

BU was successful in limiting many of Lehigh’s shooters, who combined to shoot just 22.7% from three, but could not handle Mountain Hawks guard Megan Walker. Walker shot 8-of-13 from the floor and finished with a team-best 19 points, along with three rebounds and two assists.

The Terriers were neck and neck with Lehigh through the first quarter, ending the period down only four points. Junior center Maren Durant grabbed seven boards during the quarter to give BU an edge in the paint.

A 7-0 run midway through the second helped BU to gain a six-point advantage, and the Terriers finished the half with a 39-36 lead.

However, the Terrier offense couldn’t keep up the same rapid-fire pace in the third, and were outscored 24-15 during the quarter.

The fourth quarter became a staying match between both teams, who combined to score only 19 points. While BU eventually worked its deficit to only one point, the Terriers were forced to foul.

Two made free-throws by Walker put Lehigh up by three, and Johnson missed an opportunity to tie the game at the buzzer.

BU travels to West Point on Wednesday for a rematch with Army at 6 p.m.