Boston University
5-3
#17/15 St. John's
4-2
Terriers Upset No. 17/15 St. John's, 66-49
December 1, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2012
Box Score | Highlights | Alford Postgame Comments
BOSTON - The Boston University women's basketball team stunned No. 17/15 St. John's, 66-49, Saturday afternoon at Case Gym. The win marks the second time in program history that the Terriers have defeated a ranked opponent while No. 17/15 St. John's is the highest ranked team that BU has ever upset.
The Terriers only other win over a ranked team occurred on Jan. 18, 2010, when BU downed No. 24 Vermont, 73-64, at Case Gym. BU's win over St. John's marks the biggest upset by an America East team since Hartford defeated No. 19/23 Louisville, 62-50, on Nov. 17, 2009.
BU moves to 5-3 on the season with the victory and the Terriers snapped St. John's four-game winning streak, as the Red Storm drop to 4-2. The Terriers have now defeated a current Big East conference member in consecutive seasons, as BU posted a 65-62 win over Providence to open the 2011-12 campaign on Nov. 12, 2011.
Senior Chantell Alford led BU with 22 points and matched her career-high with six made 3-pointers. The guard also added six rebounds and three assists. Junior Rashidat Agboola recorded her second double-double of the season, and 10th of her career, with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Junior Danielle Callahan was second on the team with 14 points and tied her personal best with four-made 3-pointers while classmate Whitney Turner added eight rebounds and five points. Senior Mo Moran led the team with eight assists and chipped in six points and five rebounds.
St. John's was led by Amber Thompson, who tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. Shenneika Smith added nine points and seven rebounds while Briana Brown posted seven points and six boards.
BU went 25-of-60 from the field to end the game with a 41.7 field goal percentage and shot 40.6 percent (13-of-32) from beyond the arc. St. John's finished with a 30.6 percent clip from the field (19-of-62) and connected on just one of 10 3-point attempts. The Terriers and the Red Storm finished the game tied with 43 rebounds each while both teams committed 13 turnovers.
St. John's started with a 5-3 lead within the first three minutes of the game but Alford's first 3-pointer of the night gave the Terriers' a 6-5 advantage and a lead that they never relinquished. The senior's trey sparked a 10-2 run for BU that was capped with another shot from beyond the arc by Callahan to make it a 17-7 game midway through the first half.
BU used five 3-pointers over a five minute span to take a 32-13 lead with 3:54 remaining in the first half. Following a media timeout, Keylantra Langley completed a three-point-play for the Red Storm but BU responded on the other end with a layup from Agboola. Ashley Perez scored the last points of the half for the Red Storm and the Terriers took a 34-18 lead into the break.
Moran's jumper less than three minutes into the second half gave the Terriers a 21-point lead, 41-20. St. John's brought its deficit down to 17 points, 44-27, with a layup by Aliyyah Handford before the Terriers added layups from Turner and Agboola to push their lead back to 20 points. Agboola later connected on jumper at the 11:56 mark to give BU its largest lead of the game, 51-29.
St. John's brought BU's lead down to 17 points with six minutes remaining after Brown connected on one of two chances from the charity stripe. Freshman Katie Poppe then checked in for the Terriers and made her presence immediately felt with a layup. Soon after, Callahan was whistled for a foul at 4:51, putting BU over the limit and sending Ashley Perez to the line where she connected on both shots to make it a 16-point game, 59-43, with 3:44 to play.
The Red Storm failed to further cut into their deficit and BU's 11th 3-pointer of the game, off the hands of Callahan, put the Terriers up 66-45, with 1:38 to play. St. John's closed out the game with a pair of free throws from Jennifer Blanding and a layup from Handford as BU secured the 66-49 victory.
The Terriers remain at home for its next game as BU welcomes Massachusetts to Case Gym on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
