Women’s Basketball: BU holds on against Loyola Maryland, returns to win column

Featured image by Claire Guest

By Alexa Podalsky

BOSTON – Boston University women’s basketball had less than 15 seconds left in the game on Saturday at Case Gym when senior guard Kelsi Mingo stood at the free throw line. The Terriers had, at first, made themselves a model of consistency, but their strength proved to fade. They entered the game on a seven-game win streak over their opponent, the Loyola University Maryland Greyhounds. And in the first half, the Terriers ran laps around them. 

Despite holding the lead for the entire game, BU’s momentum fell coming out of the half and its 17-point halftime lead shrunk to seven. Mingo missed both free throws, but the Terriers made enough plays down the stretch to claw out with a 55-48 victory. BU, playing their fourth game of Patriot League play, recorded their lowest-scoring win of the season.

“What we talked about after the game was our ability to play with a lead,” head coach Melissa Graves said. She said the loss of the big lead wasn’t due to any adjustment from either team, but instead an increase of “lapses.”

From the moment the Terriers (11-4, 3-1 PL) ran onto the court, they gave off a fierce and competitive energy that the Greyhounds (6-9, 1-3 PL) lacked, but that energy faded over time. In the first half, BU effectively guarded their basket and capitalized on Loyola’s mistakes. 

The Greyhounds had multiple holes in their defense that sophomore forward Anastasiia Semenova and senior forward Caitlin Weimar pushed through. Semenova led the game with 16 points and Weimar made seven of her nine free throws to finish with 13 points.

BU’s defense was a force. In the first half, it forced two shot clock violations and helped the offense complete a 10-point scoring run. Mingo, just a 5-foot-8 guard, blocked two shots.

“I always go into the game trying to focus on my defense first, and offense will come with intensity on defense,” Mingo said. 

Mingo remained quick on her feet as she scurried across the court. Her agility was her strength, and it allowed her to collect turnovers, break away, and make it to the 3-point line. Despite focusing on her defense, she scored 11 points and made three 3-pointers.

Everything changed when the teams headed back to the locker room. BU led by 17 points and had strong momentum to carry into the second half, but quickly lost it.

Loyola came into the second period with improved coverage on defense. At one point, they held BU without a point for over four minutes. 

Loyola started to attempt at a comeback, but having to come back from down 17 would prove to be difficult.

With 30 seconds left in the third quarter, the Terriers led by six, their shortest lead since the first quarter. Loyola was on a nine-point run. But on their last possession of the quarter, BU finally connected, as senior guard Sophie Beventine found Semenova for a jumper. Semenova drained it, giving BU an eight-point lead. Semenova, who recorded her first career double-double as she hauled in 11 rebounds to go with her 15 points, said she was focused on “getting the shot up and getting back on ‘D.’”

This mentality allowed the Terriers to hold their lead throughout the fourth quarter, but with only 12 points scored, the final margin was kept to seven points. BU continued to focus on their defense, and Graves said a timeout called down the stretch of the final quarter helped the team pull out the win. 

The Terriers will move on to play Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. on Wednesday at 6 p.m. 

With many more weeks of Patriot League play, Graves said the team will focus on repeating their successes and working on coming out of halftime with urgency in preparation for the Patriot League Tournament.