Jan. 30, 2008

Box Score

BOSTON - Sophomore Aly Hinton and junior Amarachi Umez-Eronini each recorded double-doubles, as the Boston University women's basketball team overcame a 19-point deficit to defeat UMBC, 72-62, at Case Gym on Wednesday evening. Umez-Eronini brought down a career-high 16 rebounds and tallied 13 points, while Hinton poured in a game-high 23 points to go along with 14 boards. The Terriers improve to 11-8 overall and 4-2 in the America East, while the Retrievers fall to 6-13 overall and 2-4 in conference play.

BU dominated on the glass, out-rebounding UMBC, 50-29, and collected 27 offensive boards. The Terriers scored 24 second-chance points, while holding the Retrievers to six. BU also took advantage of 16 UMBC miscues to score 23 points off turnovers.

Hinton was an impressive 8-for-10 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free throw line, while also dishing out two assists and earning two steals to garner America East's Player of the Game honors. En route to her career-high 16 boards, Umez-Eronini collected five crucial offensive rebounds in the second half and scored four second-chance points in that frame, which brought the Terriers to within three points with 12:28 to go.

The turning point in the game came at the start of the second half as the Terriers came out of the locker rooms with the hot hand, quickly reducing the deficit to six points by the fifth minute on a 15-6 run. Umez-Eronini was vital during that stretch as she came up with two offensive rebounds and scored on the putback both times. She also drew a foul and converted on the three-point play to put the Terriers within three points eight minutes into the second stanza.

Hinton gave BU its first lead a minute later on a layup. However, the Terriers and Retrievers battled back and forth, exchanging leads six times over the final ten minutes of the game until Hinton's two made free throws gave BU the lead for good with 5:34 to go. Junior Kristi Dini knocked down two critical treys during the final five minutes to keep the Terriers on top, while the squad went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.

In the first half, BU struggled to find its rhythm, shooting 20.6 from the field and committing nine turnovers, while the Retrievers shot 52 percent in the first frame and posted 13 off turnovers. The Terriers had jumped out to an early lead, however, a 21-4 run that spanned six minutes gave UMBC its largest lead of the game - a 19-point advantage - with two minutes to go in the first stanza.

BU will host Vermont on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 1:00 p.m.