Dia Dufault, Alison Dixon Lead Terriers in Exhibition Opener
November 2, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Boston University 95, New York Gazelles 65
BOSTON, MA (November 1) -- Junior forward Dia Dufault (Malone, NY) scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while senior forward Alison Dixon (Norwood, MA) added 20 points to lead the Boston University women's basketball team to a convincing 95-62 win over the New York Gazelles basketball club in a season-opening exhibition game at "The Roof" on Wednesday. Dixon and Dufault were the Terriers' top two scorers last season, averaging 16.4 and 11.9 points per game, respectively. Seven of Dufault's rebounds were offensive.
The Gazelles held a lead for the first nine minutes of the contest until junior forward Anne Nelson hit Dixon for a layup that gave the Terriers a 16-15 lead with 10:58 left in the half. B.U. would never trail after that. The Terriers went on a 21-9 run over the next five minutes to open up a 34-24 lead with 4:14 left in the half. Dixon had 10 points during the run.
Junior guard Pilar Verde (Madrid, Spain) made a layup at the buzzer to put B.U. up nine, 40-31 at the half. The Terriers shot 41.2% (14-for-34) from the floor in the half, while limiting the Gazelles to 25% shooting (9-for-36).
The Terriers new, fast-paced, offensive attack and pressure defense under second-year head coach Margaret McKeon really began to click in the second half.
Freshman guard Lashaunda Mitchell's (Oyster Bay, NY) three-pointer with 13:44 left in the game made the score 56-44 and sparked a 12-0 run that effectively put the game out of reach.
The Terriers stretched the lead to 79-47 with 6:37 to go on a layup by Dufault. B.U. was able to score off numerous fast breaks in the second half and held a 30-point cushion the rest of the way. Freshman Katie Terhune's (Port Murray, NJ) jumper with six seconds to go in the game provided the margin of victory for B.U.
Junior guard Annie Tomasini (Boston, MA) scored 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting while Terhune added 10 points, rounding out the double-figure scorers for the Terriers. Dufault and sophomore guard Alison Argentieri (Hornell, NY) each had five assists to lead the Terriers. Jineea Butler led the Gazelles with 15 points. Sophomore Rachel Werner (Cactus, AZ) chipped in five points and seven rebounds, including a three-pointer. Werner did not attempt a three-point shot last season.
B.U.'s swarming defense limited the Gazelles to just 26.8 percent shooting for the game (19-for-71), including 0-for-14 from three-point range. The Terriers, who shot 52.3 percent in the second half, finished at 47.4 percent (37-for-78) for the game. B.U. was outrebounded 56-54.
The play of the Terrier freshmen was impressive. Terhune led all first-year scorers with 10 points, adding four rebounds. Mitchell finished with five points and Marisa Moseley (Springfield, MA) had two points and five rebounds. All three displayed skill and hustle in their first action with the team.
The Terriers next exhibition contest will be on Thursday, November 9 at 7 p.m. against the Basketball Travellers on "The Roof."
