Women’s Basketball: Terriers Rally Late but Fall Short Against Army West Point

Featured image by Jackson Shahinfar

By Samantha Genzer

Boston University Women’s Basketball (6-7, 0-2 PL) fell to Army West Point (10-2, 2-0 PL) in a 69-59 loss on Jan. 5 at Christl Arena in West Point, NY. 

The Terriers trailed by as many as 29 points but outscored the Black Knights 18-5 in the fourth quarter to close the gap to 10. However, Army’s dominance in the first three quarters, highlighted by 52% shooting from the field, led to their win.

Overall, senior guard Alex Giannaros led BU with 13 points, hitting three of five 3-point attempts and becoming the 16th all-time leading scorer in program history. Sophomore guard Audrey Ericksen and forward SiSi Bentley each contributed eight points.

Senior guard Trinity Hardy paced Army with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while sophomore forward Fiona Hastick and guard Soleil Montrose added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

The Terriers stayed close early, with freshman forward Channing Warren converting a layup through contact late in the first quarter. Army closed the period on a 7-0 run, taking a 19-12 lead.

The Black Knights extended their momentum with an 8-0 run to start the second quarter. Ericksen ended BU’s scoreless stretch with a three-pointer, while Giannaros added a floater. Still, Hardy’s dominance pushed Army to a 42-25 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Hardy scored seven points during a 12-2 run, giving Army a 54-27 advantage. The Terriers responded with a 13-4 run, capped by a corner three from Ericksen, narrowing the deficit to 64-41 entering the fourth.

BU Head Coach Melissa Graves said she was proud of the team’s second half effort. 

“We got midway into the third quarter, and we really turned it around,” Graves said. “I was happy with how we finished but not necessarily how we started the game.” 

BU opened the final frame with six unanswered points, including layups by Warren and sophomore guard Bella McLaughlin.

A three-pointer by Giannaros sparked a 9-0 run to pull the Terriers within 12 points with under three minutes remaining. Freshman forward Inez Gallegos’ layup trimmed the gap to 10, but neither team scored in the final two minutes. 

Moving forward, Graves said she wants to work on translating the team’s strong relationship off the court into their play. 

“I really want to see that piece of how we bond translates to the floor more, and how we talk to each other and work together as a cohesive unit,” Graves said. 

Graves also said she wants to work on the team’s offensive and defensive execution by improving aggressiveness and movement. 

“Offensively, I thought we had a slow start,” Graves said. “How we played all together offensively and defensively in the second half is what I would love to replicate moving forward.” 

The Terriers look to rebound as they go up against American University on Jan. 8, with tipoff set for 11:30 a.m. and streaming available on ESPN+.