{"id":39854,"date":"2024-01-10T16:14:30","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T21:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=39854"},"modified":"2024-01-12T16:07:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T21:07:48","slug":"womens-basketball-bu-loses-thriller-at-american-drops-first-game-of-patriot-league-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2024\/01\/10\/womens-basketball-bu-loses-thriller-at-american-drops-first-game-of-patriot-league-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Basketball: BU loses thriller at American, drops first game of Patriot League play"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured image by Jessica Lam<\/em><\/p>\n

By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When they look back at it, it will be the one that got away. All along a five-game winning streak, BU kept finding a way to claw out of nail-biting finishes. A drawn-charge and a steal in the final minute of an 80-77 win over Harvard. Multiple game-tying shots, then a game-winner, in an overtime win at Northeastern. 22 steals in the Patriot League opener against Navy. The Terriers (10-4, 2-1 PL) just kept making the plays.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, in a thrilling 91-87 double OT loss at American in its first Patriot League setback of the season, they didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

And they had it. Clinging to a one-point lead with four seconds left in regulation, star senior forward Caitlin Weimar missed her second of two free-throws. The Eagles (5-9, 3-0 PL) didn\u2019t have a timeout, but had four seconds to scramble up the court and heave a prayer for the win.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the free throw clanked off the rim, senior guard Kelsi Mingo fouled as she lept for the rebound, fouling out of the game and sending the Eagles to the line. No full-court scramble needed. American drained both free throws and sent the game to overtime.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Eagles\u2019 offense didn\u2019t create anything in the paint throughout the 50 minutes, but BU committed 20 fouls. American made 20 of its 26 free throws.<\/span><\/p>\n

In double overtime, as BU trailed by a point with under a minute to play, the Eagles missed a 3-pointer. BU was on a 6-0 run after falling behind by seven. Star junior guard Alex Giannaros had created easy layups on back-to-back possessions. This was it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But American found the offensive rebound. A couple seconds later, a miscommunication between Weimar and BU guard Aoibhe Gormley allowed American\u2019s Laura Nogues (24 points) to walk down the lane for an easy layup.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Eagles corralled 12 offensive rebounds and finished with 19 second-chance points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BU called timeout, now trailing by three with 22 seconds left. On the inbound, the Terriers went straight to Weimar, who drove baseline against junior Eagles\u2019 forward Emily Johns (22 points) but couldn\u2019t get past. Weimar, falling out of bounds, had nowhere to go. She threw the ball away. Game over.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers committed 24 turnovers, the second-most in any game they\u2019ve played this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

American scored 32 points, more than a third of its final tally, off them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, that\u2019s the simplest way to say it,\u201d BU head coach Melissa Graves said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t take care of the ball.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Eagles, forced to settle for jump shots against BU\u2019s impenetrable interior defense, shot 41.7 percent from the field to the Terriers\u2019 49.2 percent clip. But the Eagles took 11 more shots.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just give away so many possessions when we turn the ball over,\u201d Graves said.<\/span><\/p>\n

That, in the end, was the difference.<\/span><\/p>\n

Otherwise, BU was excellent. It made 30 field goals; it shot almost 50 percent from the field. The Terriers found ways into the paint throughout the game, using creative pick-and-roll action, entry passes into Weimar in the post, or by simply beating opposing defenders off the dribble. The offense created quality looks with ease \u2014 all game long.<\/span><\/p>\n

Weimar, the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year and two-time defending Player of the Week, recorded a 26-point, 11-rebound double-double. Giannaros dropped a career-high 30 points.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlex (Giannaros) was tremendous, and she pushed through big time when she was clearly tired towards the end and we needed her in there,\u201d Graves said. \u201cAnd then obviously, Caitlin (Weimar) continues to do that consistently each time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BU got flashes from its role players, too; freshman guards Audrey Ericksen and Aoibhe Gormley finished with nine and eight points, respectively, and made clutch free throws down the stretch. Senior guard Sophie Beneventine made three silky mid-range jumpers after beating defenders off the dribble.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we had good stuff from our point guards,\u201d Graves said. \u201cSophie and Aoibhe haven\u2019t been huge scoring threats but they\u2019ve been able to get downhill and finish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers made seven 3-pointers on a 39 percent clip. They had 15 assists. This was, perhaps, their most impressive offensive performance of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely, I think we\u2019re where we need to be,\u201d Graves said.<\/span><\/p>\n

But they committed 24 turnovers. And it undid their effort when it mattered most.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re one of the top efficiency teams in the country when we don\u2019t turn it over, which is great, it\u2019s incredible,\u201d Graves said. \u201cBut we give away so many possessions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just, again, we need to take care of the ball more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On defense, BU was almost impenetrable. Weimar blocked five shots. She and Giannaros recorded three steals apiece.<\/span><\/p>\n

American scored 91 points, but just 14 of them \u2014 <\/span>14 <\/span><\/i>\u2014 were in the paint. The Eagles were averaging 43 in the paint in their two Patriot League games coming in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur game plan was to try to take away and limit paint points, which I thought we did a great job of,\u201d Graves said.<\/span><\/p>\n

But American just would not miss. It made jumper after jumper, 3-pointer after 3-pointer. It made 23 field goals from outside of the paint, 11 of them 3s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey made some shots they don\u2019t normally make, you know, so they were a little hot in an unexpected way,\u201d Graves said. \u201cI think we could do better with the urgency of, say when we cover the paint, to get back out to a (perimeter) player when they receive the ball.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

American made 30 shots, but make no mistake, BU got what it wanted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust like little things we need to tweak, but overall, I thought we did what we wanted to do game plan wise,\u201d Graves said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018but\u2019? The offensive rebounds. BU surrendered 12 of them, many late in the game, including the big one in the last minute of the second overtime period.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we lost it on the offensive end (with the turnovers), and then they also had 19 second chance points and a lot of those happened at the end of the game,\u201d Graves said.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s it. Turnovers and rebounding, in an otherwise impressive outing, turned a win into a loss. The thinnest of margins matter the most in conference play, and the Terriers suffered for them in their first Patriot League loss of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is something I told them, like we need to learn from it,\u201d Graves said. \u201cIt\u2019s got to be an effort at practice that we change what we\u2019re doing and focus on valuing the possession and focus on boxing out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BU, and especially Graves, isn\u2019t used to that. Now in her third season at the helm, Graves is 31-7 in the Patriot League regular season. The Terriers lost one game in the conference slate last year: the very last one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Saturday was just BU\u2019s second conference loss in the month of January under Graves\u2019 leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this season is different. BU is younger than its ever been, with six freshman on the roster and eight new players.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect for us to do what we did last year and go 17-1 in conference and not lose a game until the last one,\u201d Graves said. \u201cIt\u2019s just trying to keep an even keel and understand this year, we\u2019re a very, very young team, and taking those learning experiences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers let it get away, but losses like this were inevitable. BU may have the same postseason aspirations as last season, but times are different.<\/span><\/p>\n

Said Graves, when asked if finally dropping a close game could be a blessing in disguise for her young team:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, definitely. Not panicking or anything like that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featured image by Jessica Lam By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan When they look back at it, it will be the one that got away. All along a five-game winning streak, BU kept finding a way to claw out of nail-biting finishes. A drawn-charge and a steal in the final minute of an 80-77 win over Harvard. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21477,"featured_media":34624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19,1039,1040],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39854"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39854"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39865,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39854\/revisions\/39865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}