Women’s Basketball: Terriers fall to #7 Colorado
Featured image by Jacob Ireland
By Finn Rogan
Boston University women’s basketball (5-2) faced off against the Colorado Buffaloes (7-1) on Tuesday night at the CU Events Center in Boulder. Colorado, the seventh-ranked team in the nation, is the toughest opponent on the Terriers schedule this season.
“They went to a Sweet 16 last year. I don’t see a reason why they couldn’t repeat that at the very least,” BU head coach Melissa Graves said.
The Terriers entered the game as 31.5-point underdogs on Caesars Sportsbook. Although the game did not end up being close, BU lost 85-55, the Terriers played competitively and kept it close for most of the night, trailing 55-51 entering the fourth quarter before being outscored 30-4 in the final period.
“Obviously I wish we would have put together a fourth quarter, but I’m happy with the effort, and that we came out ready to go in the first half and the second half,” Graves said.
The game started off quickly, with the Terriers keeping it close early, before Colorado scored two quick baskets, making it 12-7 with 4:32 left in the first quarter.
Although they looked frazzled, BU was able to respond with a strong finish to close out the quarter. The game was tied 16-16 after 10 minutes.
BU held their own on the glass early, leading the first-quarter rebound battle 11-7. Senior forward Caitlin Weimar led the Terriers with 6 boards in the opening frame.
Colorado found success scoring on the fast break in the first quarter, and for the rest of the game, scoring 17 points on the break throughout the 40 minutes. The Terriers scored just one fast-break point.
Senior Colorado guard Frida Formann caught fire from behind the arc, hitting two quick 3-pointers to start the second quarter. She got fouled shooting another, and all of a sudden the Buffaloes led 28-19 with 7:20 left before halftime.
“I had to use two timeouts there just to refocus on where she was,” Graves said. “She’s a phenomenal shooter.”
The Terriers came out of their timeouts with two buckets, but the Buffaloes found their rhythm on defense and played with pace on offense. The Terriers had six turnovers in the second quarter.
With a few late baskets, the Terriers trailed 35-27 at the half.
The Terriers started the second half on a 12-4 run. BU found their form from deep with 3-pointers from junior guard Alex Giannaros and freshmen guard Aoibhe Gormley.
The Terriers took a 48-46 lead after clinical buckets from Weimar and a layup from sophomore forward Anete Adler.
After switching back to a man-to-man defensive scheme, the Terriers gave up a quick 8-3 Colorado run to close out the quarter. The Terriers trailed 55-51 with one quarter to play.
BU shot an efficient 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range in the third quarter.
Colorado went on an 18-0 run to start the fourth quarter, playing stellar offense. The Terriers looked frazzled on offense themselves; they turned the ball over six times in that span.
The fourth quarter did not get any better for BU, as they would only score four points in the period while turning the ball over 10 times. The Buffaloes outscored the Terriers 30-4 in the fourth quarter.
Colorado finished with a 30-point win after leading by four with 10 minutes to go. Formann scored 22 points with five made 3-pointers.
The Terriers still got a solid performance from Weimar, who finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and her fourth double-double of the season.
“With the atmosphere we played in, and playing a top-10 program, she really kept her cool and her confidence and she was really locked in defensively,” Graves said.
Giannaros also played well, finishing with 16 points and three 3-pointers.
Colorado won the assist battle 22-9, the rebound battle 36-31, and they forced 27 BU turnovers on the night. “I think the biggest thing offensively for us is to try to limit these turnovers,” Graves said.
The Terriers will return home to play the undefeated Saint Joseph’s Hawks next Tuesday at 6 p.m.