Women’s Basketball: Terriers Stave Off Late Comeback Attempt From New Haven
Featured image by Jackson Shahinfar
By Jane Guay
Saturday afternoon, the Boston University Women’s Basketball team (2-2) won in an epic thriller against the University of New Haven’s Women’s Basketball team (1-3) with a victory of 65-58. This was an interesting matchup before players even got onto the court, with this being the Chargers’ first season in NCAA Division I for both men’s and women’s basketball.
Lindsay Hogan, the senior forward for the Chargers, rose to the standards as the team’s player to watch, despite coming up short in the end. Starting off the first quarter and her own stat line with back-to-back threes, Hogan was a key player for the Chargers’ offensive strategy.
“I thought Lindsay Hogan really had a day, and she really crushed us, especially in the first quarter; she came out and hit two threes in a row. We didn’t contest her, so we were just trying to adjust to her,” BU Head Coach Melissa Graves statedin a post-game press interview.
This combination of Hogan’s ability to rarely miss in the beginning of the first quarter, along with sophomore forward Addisen Sulikowski’s early steal and block, led to questionable Terriers, leading to an early timeout. The time the Terriers used to assess as well as the transition into the second quarter is ultimately what they needed.
“So we actually adjusted a lot throughout the court, where we threw different types of defenses at them, and [I thought] that really played into our favor,” Graves continued.
The Terriers started out the second quarter with an 8-0 run with four points coming from junior guard Bella McLaughlin,after trailing by two to the Chargers following the first. While this came from a stronger offensive strategy made by BU, it also was a result of a struggling defense, loss of control of the ball, and an overall loss of confidence in New Haven. The Terriers had an overall bigger size compared to the Chargers, so that led to the defense being essential if New Haven were to come out on top.
The conversations made by the Chargers following the Terriers’ run resulted in a change in players on the court, where much of their play in the second half came from players on the bench. The third quarter consisted of plenty of key moments, and the players conducting them helped pick back their momentum. Yet another Linsay Hogan triple was made, followed by Aniya McDonald Perry’s and-1 layup, which built back energy into not only the Chargers but also the crowd—something the Terriers also had to go up against.
“It was a great atmosphere to play in in order to prepare us for, you know, tough conference games on the road.” Graves stated regarding the rise in crowd volume in response to Perry’s and-1.
Despite the Chargers’ ability to build back momentum, especially with freshman guard Jasmine McKay’s ability to cut the lead to just four with a little more than three minutes to go, the Terriers were able to pull through. The key player that led to this result was none other than senior forward Anete Adler. The star’s ability to finish out several plays with buckets easy and difficult, ending with 20 points for the game, was the essential finish to the fourth quarter the Terriers needed.
“She has the ability to compete to be like Player of the Year in our conference. I believe that about her; I really do,” said Graves.
The Terriers continue their on-the-road journey to Providence, Rhode Island, to face the Brown Women’s Basketball team this coming Wednesday, November 19, at 7 p.m. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.