Women’s Basketball: Gormley powers BU past Lehigh

By James Noyes

The Boston University Terriers (17-10, 9-7) defeated the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks (15-12, 7-9), 89-78, on Wednesday night at Case Gym. It was the highest scoring regulation game this season for BU, as well as their 13th home win. BU only led by two points at halftime, but a strong third quarter powered by freshman Aoibhe Gormley set the tone for the rest of the game.

Terrier sophomore forward Anastasiia Semenova did not play, and with forward Anete Adler already out, the Terriers started four guards alongside senior Caitlin Weimar. “I thought (Weimar’s) role was the same because of how well everyone around her played. A lot of people stepped up in Ana’s absence,” said BU head coach Melissa Graves. ”She did what she needed to do and she had a typical day, almost a double-double.”

Aoibhe Gormley, the Terriers’ freshman guard from Quincy, Massachusetts, scored a career-high 21 points, including 14 in the third quarter, to take a commanding lead against the Hawks. “I didn’t have a great first half, in my opinion, so when I got out, coach talked to me and the bench at the start of the second half about what we were going to do. The first play I was wide open, so we kept rolling with it,” said Gormley. She proceeded to score 12-straight points to give BU an eight point lead going into the final quarter.

Junior guard Alex Giannaros also played well, leading the game in scoring along with Lehigh’s Ella Stemmer, who both notched 22 points. Three of the starting guards, Giannaros, Gormley, and Kelsi Mingo, combined for 56 of the Terriers 89 points. “When you have Aoibhe playing like she was, you can’t really complain,” said Giannaros while laughing after the game. She also contributed to the Terriers game-closing defense in the fourth quarter. “I think in the end we made key stops when we needed to,” said Giannaros.

“I thought this was one of the best games we’ve played all year. Not just because we made shots, we took care of the basketball, we only had eight turnovers,” said Graves. “We shared the ball really well… I thought we played better with a lead, all things we talked about wanting to get better at.” 

“With where we’re at in the standings and how close everything is right now, this is such a big win for us.” The Terriers are now tied for second in the Patriot League, trailing Holy Cross by one game. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters were also at the game on Wednesday, along with students from BU’s Wheelock College of Education and Development’s Deaf Studies program. “It’s an amazing blend of pride in the BU community and the deaf community,” signed Emily Glenn-Smith, a lecturer at Boston University’s Deaf Studies program. Andrew R. Bottoms, the director of the Deaf Studies program, signed: “It’s a great opportunity to spread awareness around the school of our community, and to bring students together in an environment outside of the classroom, away from desks and lectures.” 

These students contributed to the sizable crowd that was in Case Gym to watch the Terriers second-to-last home game of the season. Their final one is Saturday against Holy Cross, before they travel to Hamilton, New York to take on Colgate in their last game before the Patriot League Tournament.