Women's Basketball Falls to Canisius, 70-64
November 26, 2006 | Women's Basketball
BOSTON – In a tightly contested match, the Boston University women’s basketball team (3-1) fell, 70-64, to Canisius College (4-1) on Sunday afternoon at BU’s Case Gym. Junior Cheri Raffo led the Terrier offense with 13 points, while senior Katie Meinhardt scored 12 points, dished out seven assists and collected a career-high eight rebounds in the contest. The Terriers take on No. 7 UConn on Tuesday in Storrs, Conn.
Also scoring in double digits for the Terriers was sophomore Christine Kinneary with 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting, including one from 3-point range. Leading the Canisius Golden Griffins was Amanda Cavo with 15 points, while Brittane Russell scored 13 points and collected a game-high nine rebounds.
Canisius went ahead for good at the 14:11 mark on a Brittane Russell 3-pointer, however the Terriers remained within five points throughout the second half. The Golden Griffins claimed the largest lead of the game – eight points – with 10 seconds remaining, however junior Kasey Devine hit a jumper with seconds remaining on the clock to cut the deficit to six points. Canisius held on for its fourth victory of the season.
The Terriers and Golden Griffins opened the game trading baskets, however BU maintained the lead throughout the first six minutes. After going down for the first time by one point, sophomore Kristi Dini came back with a 3-pointer to reclaim the lead 15-13 in the 13th minute. Freshman Kristen Folk increased the lead after an offensive rebound one minute later.
Canisius came back with an 8-0 run to go up 25-18 at 8:57. However, the Terriers went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to one point with 4:30 remaining in the half. The Golden Griffins answered with a 6-0 run of their own to put the lead back to six points.
The Golden Griffins took a 32-26 lead into the locker rooms at halftime when JJ Williams hit both of her free throws.
In the second half, the Terriers opened with a 6-0 run, with four points coming from sophomore Christine Kinneary to tie the score at 32. After Canisius answered with a jumper, Meinhardt came down the court and nailed a 3-pointer to regain the lead.
Freshman Aly Hinton hit a 3-pointer at 15:05 to increase the Terrier lead to five, however Canisius’ Amanda Cavo returned with a trey of her own to bring the Golden Griffins to within two.
The Griffins and Terriers traded baskets and kept the scored knotted at 42 at the 12:59 mark. After Canisius went up by three, Hinton brought the Terriers to within one after following up on a missed 3-pointer. Hinton collected the offensive rebound and put the shot back in the basket.
Canisius would extend their lead again by five, but Dini’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to two.
With 4:50 remaining, Meinhardt took the ball into the paint and dished it off to Kovach who put in the lay-up to bring the score back within three. On the next possession, Raffo hit a jumper to bring the score to 56-55 in favor of Canisius.
With two minutes remaining, Canisius maintained a 63-59 advantage. With 36 seconds remaining, Raffo hit a trey to bring the Terriers back to within three points, but Canisius sunk five free throws within 20 seconds to make it a three-possession game. Devine hit the final shot of the game and completed the scoring at 70-64.
Boston University takes on its first nationally ranked opponent of the season on Tuesday when it travels to Storrs, Conn., to take on the University of Connecticut Huskies at 7:30 p.m.
