Women’s Basketball: Terriers Lose Big at UConn
Featured image by Claire Guest
By Finley Rogan
The Boston University Terriers (1-1, 0-0 PL) were defeated 86-32 by the No. 2 UConn Huskies (1-0, 0-0 BE) on Thursday night in Hartford.
“We never were really able to play half court defense, and we were never really able to get our offense going just because we returned the ball over so much,” BU Head Coach Melissa Graves said.
What a stage it was for the Terriers, as UConn is the number two ranked team in the nation and widely considered one of the premier women’s college basketball programs of all time. UConn is led by senior guard Paige Bueckers, who was a first-team All-American last season.
Graves said it was a full circle moment for her, dating back to her playing days at the University of Notre Dame.
It was not only the Huskies first game of the season but also their home opener, so the XL Center was sure to be rocking.
Graves called it a “championship” environment.
The Terriers looked flustered early with three fouls and three turnovers in the first four minutes. BU got their first points of the game with just over four minutes left in the first quarter, as UConn started hot and already led 11-2.
It was a first quarter to forget for the Terriers, as they had five fouls, 11 turnovers, and trailed 31-6. BU was only able to attempt nine shots from the field in the opening quarter, making just three of them. Meanwhile, The Huskies dominated early, having 13 makes on 20 attempts.
The Terriers continued to struggle in the second quarter while UConn continued to run away with the game. BU had no answer to UConn’s defensive intensity.
UConn outscored BU 29-7 in the second quarter, and they forced the visitors to commit an additional eight turnovers in the 10 minute span. BU trailed 60-13 in what was a disheartening half. UConn had 28 points off Terrier turnovers through one half of play. The Huskies had three different players eclipse double figures in scoring, while the Terriers had just one scorer reach five points.
BU came out looking more composed in the second half, as through five minutes of the third quarter they had scored eight points to UConn’s seven. The Terriers were on a 9-0 run for over four minutes in the middle of the period.
“We were able to settle down a little bit and slow things down on offense,” Graves said.
BU trailed 72-22 after three quarters of play. Although they lost the quarter 12-9, it was clearly the Terriers best period of play. The Terriers looked like they were not taking their chance to play a powerhouse UConn team for granted.
The results were similar in the fourth quarter, and the Terriers wound up losing 86-32. UConn was simply dominant in the first half and were able to take their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter.
“This game will not affect our run for an NCAA tournament bid,” Graves said. “It’s how we play in the Patriot League that matters.”
The Terriers finished with 33 turnovers and shot just 26.7% on their field goal attempts. Senior guard Alex Giannaros was the sole BU player to reach double digits in scoring as she finished with 13 points.
Graves said it was an important learning experience for Giannaros, as she was the main focus of attention from the UConn defense.
BU will be in action again on Tuesday night as they take on Emmanuel College at the case gym at 6:00 p.m. with streaming available on ESPN+.