Women’s Basketball: Terriers celebrate Senior Day with win over Bucknell
By Hannah Yoshinaga
BU women’s basketball rang in Senior Day with a 69-51 win against Bucknell after maintaining a lead over the Bison for nearly the entire game.
The win ties the Terriers (16-12, 12-5 PL) with Holy Cross for the second-best record in the league with one game remaining to determine playoff standings. The Bison (20-8, 11-6) sit in fourth place, a game ahead of Lehigh.
After entering the matchup on a two-game losing streak, the Terriers made a statement on offense. BU shot 49.2% from the floor and 40.0% from deep while also holding an edge in the paint, where the Terriers outscored the Bison 44-30.
Junior guard Sydney Johnson scored a game-leading 21 points, reaching 20 points for the eighth time this season. Sophomore center Caitlin Weimar came off the bench to finish with 13 points, in addition to nine rebounds and an assist.
Freshman guard Alex Giannaros helped to orchestrate the offense, finishing with four assists.
Senior forward Riley Childs returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 12 and was named a starter in honor of Senior Day. Fellow senior forward Chiara Tibbitt was also put in the starting lineup and finished with seven points, her third-highest point total of the season.
Bucknell’s typically potent offense started strong in the first quarter but floundered in the final three periods. The Bison shot 30.6% from the floor and made only three shots from beyond the arc all game long.
The Bison’s Cecelia Collins, a surefire candidate for Patriot League Rookie of the Year, managed four points on 1-of-6 shooting in 37 minutes of action. Taylor O’Brien, another offensive stalwart for Bucknell, led the team with 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting.
The win was the Terriers’ second consecutive victory against the Bison, which has never previously happened in the programs’ history versus one another.
BU’s final regular-season game is on Wednesday at Holy Cross at 6 p.m. A win would tie the Terriers with the Crusaders for the best regular-season record at 13-5; an American win against Lafayette would give the Eagles a 13-5 record as well.