Boston University
2-1
Richmond
1-2
Women's Basketball Posts 70-61 Victory Over Richmond
November 16, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2012
Postgame Comments: Coach Greenberg and R. Agboola
BOSTON - Behind double-digit scoring performances from four players, the Boston University women's basketball team defeated Richmond, 70-61, Friday night at Case Gym. BU closes its three-game season-opening home stand with a 2-1 record while Richmond drops to 1-2 on the season.
For the third consecutive game, senior Chantell Alford led the team with 18 points while adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Classmate Mo Moran was second on the team with 13 points and dished out a team-high eight assists.
Junior Rashidat Agboola posted her ninth career double-double with 12 points and a season-high 14 rebounds while classmate Whitney Turner scored a career-best 12 points to go with five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Senior Kristen Sims chipped in eight points and four rebounds while junior Danielle Callahan came off the bench to score seven points.
Richmond had a trio of players reach double-digits in scoring and was led by Rachael Bilney’s 15 points. Kristina King tallied 15 points while Genevieve posted a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
BU ended the game with a 42.4 field goal percentage thanks to a 13-of-26 performance (50.0 percent) in the second half. Richmond connected on 41.1 percent of its opportunities while out-rebounding the Terriers, 40-33. BU won the turnover battle, giving the ball up just 11 times while Richmond committed 20 turnovers. BU took advantage of the Spiders’ miscues and scored 20 points off of their turnovers.
The first half of the game was a tight affair and ended with the teams even at 32-32. The score was tied on four different occurrences throughout the opening 20 minutes, including at the 10:55 mark when Alford’s jumper evened the score to 15-15. From there, the Spiders’ held the advantage and extended their lead to as many as seven points, 25-18, after a layup from Samantha Bilney with 6:38 remaining in the game.
After the team’s traded layups, Moran cut the deficit to two points with a pair of free throws but R. Bilney responded on the Spiders’ next possession with a 3-pointer to give Richmond a 30-25 lead with 3:02 to play in the half. BU closed out the first period with a 7-2 run, including a 3-pointer from Alford a second before the buzzer sounded to send the teams to the locker rooms tied at 32-32.
BU took its first lead since its opening basket to start the second half but Richmond was quick to close the gap and regain the advantage, 36-35, with a layup from R. Bilney at the 16:41 mark. Alford and Moran then hit back-to-back jumpers to give BU the momentum and spark a 9-2 run to take the teams to a media timeout with the Terriers on top, 45-39, with 14:09 to play.
The Spiders chipped away at BU’s lead out of the break but Alford ignited a 9-0 run for the Terriers with a 3-pointer to give BU its largest lead of the night, 54-42, with 11:04 remaining. Richmond used a pair of free throws from King to bring its deficit down to 10 points then received its first field goal in almost seven minutes when King connected on a trey at 7:44 to make it a 54-47 game. Moran quickly pushed it back to double-digits with a 3-pointer of her own on BU’s next possession but R. Bilney and King responded with a pair of threes to make if a four-point game, 57-53, with 5:47 to play.
Two free throws from Agboola and a shot from the charity stripe from Moran were the only points scored over the next three minutes before R. Bilney connected from beyond the arc. Alford scored with two consecutive layups to put the Terriers up, 67-56 with 1:20 to play.
Richmond attempted to rally in the final minute with a 3-pointer from Samantha Bilney and a jumper from R. Bilney, but BU went three-for-three from the foul line down the stretch to preserve its lead and end the game with a 70-61 victory.
The Terriers begin a four-game road swing on Tuesday (Nov. 20) when they make the short trek across town to Northeastern. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
