Women’s Basketball: Terriers Handle Emmanuel in Exhibition

Featured image by Sierra Jansen

By James Noyes

The Boston University Terriers (1-1, 0-0 PL) beat the Emmanuel College Saints (0-0, 0-0 GNAC) 71-38 in an exhibition game at Case Gym in Boston on Tuesday. Although the game won’t appear on their official record, it provided the Terriers with an opportunity to get back into their usual form after receiving a 54-point loss from No. 2 ranked UConn last Thursday. 

“UConn was similar to them in the fact that they collapsed into the paint, they forced you to make a decision,” said BU Head Coach Melissa Graves. “On any kind of post entry, dive, drive, they’re collapsing. So I thought UConn, it was really hard for us, we were very frazzled. Once we turned it over against the press, it just kind of snowballed and we kept turning the ball over.”

Emmanuel employed this defensive strategy early in Tuesday’s game; the Terriers struggled to adjust to the Saints’ zone in the first quarter, shooting 5-13 from the field and turning the ball over four times. They had a tough time moving the ball around inside of the three-point line, and it resulted in BU taking 10 of their 24 total three-point shots in the first quarter.

“We really needed the half to get used to, and we kept talking to them about, ‘flow into zone’. A lot of times the zone makes you stagnant offensively, and I thought we felt that a little bit,” Graves said. The Terriers only scored 14 points in the first quarter, but they made up for their lack of offensive output with their effort on the other side of the ball.

BU was dominant on defense all night, and held Emmanuel to seven points on 2-14 shooting in the first quarter. They forced 27 total Emmanuel turnovers, with 14 coming in the second half. Graves said, “that really ignited our offense. We had a lot of steals, we were able to get a lot in transition because of that, and [get] some easy buckets”

“I think we’re ahead of where we’ve been in the past defensively. A big reason I attribute it to is our young players, because they bring a phenomenal energy that we haven’t had in the past. They’re going to run through a wall, they’re going to play hard, they’re going to buy into what we’re doing. Are they going to make mistakes? Yeah, but they’re going to make aggressive mistakes. And I think that’s the difference from my veteran teams in the past, who were just stuck in their ways.”

One of these young players, 6-foot sophomore forward Sisi Bentley, made a strong defensive impact. To open the second quarter, she assisted on a layup by freshman forward Allison Schwertner before getting back on defense and thriving in the mismatch with the smaller Emmanuel guard Paris Atuahene.

On the next possession, Bentley drew a foul on offense and made one of two free throws. She successfully contested a Saints’ layup their next time down the floor, then layed in the transition bucket right after to extend the BU lead to 19-7. Bentley also dove to the floor to recover a loose ball before being subbed out with 6:30 left to play in the quarter.

When asked about Bentley’s performance, Graves said that she was “really happy with her effort tonight, and expects a lot of things from her this year.”

“She wants to be a big defensive stopper for us, and we always knew she was capable of that,” Graves said. “She just brings a great energy, she’s really explosive, she’s athletic.”

Bentley, who did not play last season due to an injury, wears number 94. “She has a goal of being one of the best defenders in the Patriot League,” Graves said. “A lot of people don’t know, she picked 94 because she wants to guard 94 feet defensively.”

Bentley was a force down the entire length of the court, and the Terriers’ overall defensive disruption limited Emmanuel’s offense and led to multiple fastbreak scores down the stretch in the second quarter. BU went into halftime with a 25-16 lead.

Both teams went back and forth trading baskets to start the second half. Terrier freshman forward Allison Schwertner scored the first six BU points of the third quarter, including an up-and-under reverse layup to stretch their lead to 11 points. Emmanuel guard Olivia Matela answered with a layup of her own, before senior Terrier guard Alex Giannaros drained a three-pointer to put BU up 34-22.

“Our defense led to offense, and once we got some good steals and into transition, my teammates were able to find me and it was better from there,” Schwertener said. Things did indeed get better from there.

On the next BU possession, Schwertener expertly absorbed the contact in the paint and made a layup, then drilled the subsequent and-one free throw. A successful trap off the Saints’ inbound pass led to a jump ball and another Terrier possession. Giannaros threw a long pass to Schwertener, who laid the ball up again to extend BU’s lead to 39-22. Schwertener scored 11 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter.

“It just helps to give me more confidence for the rest of the year to know what I’m capable of, continuing to play as I play and rely on my teammates,” Schwertener said. “And it’s my freshman year, so just go out there and have fun.”

Fun would be an understatement; Schwertener finished with a game-high 17 points, tied with Emmanuel guard Olivia Matela. 13 of those points came in a dominant third quarter for BU: they scored 27 points in the frame, doubling their first half total, and forced nine Emmanuel turnovers. At the end of the quarter, the Terriers led 52-28.

The BU starting five was back on the floor at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and they drove the nail into the Saints’ coffin. After four quick points from sophomore guard Aiobhe Gormley, a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Audrey Erickson, and another layup from Schwertener, the lead was widened to 61-28.

The Terrier defense stifled Emmanuel all game, and they didn’t take their foot off the gas once in the final quarter. In a bounceback game, BU cruised to a 71-38 win over their local opponents.

“Basketball, at the end of the day, is just basketball. So you have to have confidence coming out, no matter who you’re playing. Don’t take anyone too lightly and don’t take anyone too greatly,” Schwertener said. “I think just believing in ourselves and knowing who we are, coming out and playing BU basketball every day is the ultimate goal.”

The Terriers achieved that goal on Tuesday night in Case Gym. Next, they’ll take on the University of New Hampshire Wildcats in Durham on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.