Boston University
15-6, 8-0AE
UMBC
11-10, 5-3AE
Terriers Hold Off UMBC for 59-53 Triumph
January 25, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2012
BALTIMORE, Md. - The Boston University women’s basketball team held off a late second half rally by UMBC to defeat the Retrievers, 59-53, Wednesday afternoon in Baltimore, Md. The victory extends BU’s winning streak to eight games, as the Terriers complete the first half of their conference schedule with a perfect 8-0 mark and a 15-6 overall record.
Senior Alex Young led BU with 14 points and added four rebounds. Junior Chantell Alford added 13 points and also pulled down four rebounds while sophomore Rashidat Agboola posted 11 points and eight rebounds.
Senior Caroline Stewart grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to match her season-high while adding six points.
UMBC took an early 6-1 lead before Agboola posted BU’s first field goal of the game at 14:57. Alford tied the game for the first time at 8-8 and Moran followed on the Terriers’ next trip down the court with a three to give BU its first lead of the game, 11-8. The Terriers extended the margin to 13-9 with a pair of free throws from Moran but UMBC knotted the game again at 13-13.
Young broke the tie with a jumper off a dish from Kristen Sims but a 5-0 run from the Retrievers gave UMBC the 18-15 lead. Stewart hit a jumper for BU as the teams went into a timeout at 7:10 with UMBC holding an 18-17 advantage. After the break, Melton reclaimed BU’s lead with a jumper from inside the paint before the Retrievers took it back with a three-point-play from Kristin Coles.
With the game tied at 21-21, UMBC extended the margin with seven unanswered points to take a 28-21 edge with 4:06 play. BU closed out the half with a 10-2 run capped by a pair of free throws from Agboola to take a 31-30 lead into halftime.
The Terriers opened the second half with a 9-0 run as the Retrievers failed to score a basket until the 10:14 mark. Young’s shot from beyond the arc at 9:34 gave the Terriers a double-digit lead that they would extend to 13 points, 50-37, with another trey from Young at 6:52. BU then took its largest lead of the game, 54-39, after a layup by Whitney Turner and a pair of free throws by Alford.
UMBC responded with four unanswered points before Agboola sank a pair of shots from the charity stripe. The Retrievers then rattled off 10 unanswered points over the next two minutes to bring the score to 56-53 with 21 seconds to play. Alford connected on two shots from the foul line and UMBC could not get the ball to fall on the other end. Moran drained the final free throw of the game to give BU the 59-53 victory.
The Terriers shot 37.3 percent (19-of-51) for the game while UMBC converted on 25.8 percent (17-of-66) of its opportunities. Both teams pulled down 42 rebounds.
BU has a week off before hosting Vermont on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Agganis Arena. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
