Women’s Basketball: Terriers score season-high in victory over Le Moyne

Featured image by Jacob Ireland

By Henry Dinh-Price

Freshman guard Audrey Ericksen came up with a steal at midcourt and found an open Alex Giannaros near the left wing. Giannaros, a junior guard, took one dribble before burying a go-ahead 3-pointer. Her triple, less than four minutes into the game, gave the Terriers their first lead — a 9-7 advantage they would not relinquish. 

Powered by a 44-point first half, Boston University women’s basketball (4-1) rolled to a 64-53 victory over the Le Moyne Dolphins (1-5) at Case Gymnasium on Wednesday. 

BU’s 64 points marked a season-high, as the Terriers’ ball movement created open looks, especially in the first half. 

“I think that we’re continuing to improve in areas that we want to, especially offensively,” BU head coach Melissa Graves said. “When you look at 22 assists on 25 made baskets, that’s something to be really proud of, the way we share the basketball. And I think we’re continuing to get better at that.”

BU got off to a hot start, leading 21-16 at the end of the first quarter while shooting 8-for-14 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3. 

It was the second quarter, however, where the Terriers found separation. Coming out of the huddle to start the quarter, BU erupted on a 12-2 run. Senior forward Caitlin Weimar and sophomore forward Anete Adler scored on layups at the rim to kickstart the run and force Le Moyne to call a timeout. 

After the timeout, Le Moyne focused on protecting the paint, sending double teams at Weimar and Adler. With their focus on BU’s interior presence, Giannaros found space on the perimeter, hitting back-to-back open 3-pointers to pad the Terrier lead. 

“We talk a lot about playing inside-out and of course (Caitlin) and Anete are going to have a lot of attention on them in the post,” Giannaros said. “Coach does a good job of setting me up to be in those positions where if they double down, it’ll be from my (defender).”

BU continued to knock down shots during the remainder of the quarter, as they outscored Le Moyne 23-11 in the second frame and took a 44-27 lead into halftime. Through the first 20 minutes, the Terriers shot 59 percent from the field (17-29) and 55 percent from behind the arc (6-11).

The beginning of the third quarter was a bit more of the same, as BU stretched their lead to 21 points, their largest of the game.

But then the Terrier offense faltered, missing shots and turning the ball over. For the final 4:54 of the quarter, BU did not see the ball drop through the basket. 

“I think we just needed to take care of the basketball,” Graves said. “It was like four or five turnovers in a row at one point where we just weren’t making an easy pass or making the reads we were making in the first half.”

Le Moyne used it as an opportunity to get back into the game, going on a 14-0 run capped by two corner 3-pointers from freshman guard Leah Middleton. 

All of a sudden, BU’s advantage was just six points heading into the fourth quarter, the closest the game had been since early in the second.

“I think we just had a lull there in the third quarter,” Graves said. “We talk a lot about how we’re going to come out with energy and effort to start the game, and then out of halftime is something that we’re continuing to work on.”

The Terriers, however, responded immediately to open the fourth quarter. Two 3-pointers from Ericksen and another from Giannaros pushed the lead back to 15, as BU opened the quarter on a 9-0 run. 

“We knew that we had to respect every opponent that we play, but I think that we knew that just because they went on a little run doesn’t mean that we’re not gonna have our run in return,” Giannaros said. 

The early fourth quarter push from BU put the game out of reach as the Terriers prevailed in an 11-point win. 

Giannaros led all scorers with 15 points, connecting on four 3-pointers. Weimar and Ericksen also reached double-figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. 

BU will now set their sights on the Rocky Mountains, as they travel to face Northern Colorado on Sunday before a major test in Boulder against Colorado, ranked third in the entire nation, on Tuesday. 

“We’re super excited about the opportunity to play those two teams out there, especially Colorado, you know, in that kind of atmosphere,” Graves said. “We’re excited about it, but I think obviously getting another win always, you know, helps the confidence piece.”