Feb. 16, 2013
Box Score | Video Highlights
BOSTON – The Boston University women’s basketball team used a 20-6 run over the final seven minutes of the game to give the Terriers a 59-45 come-from-behind victory over New Hampshire Saturday afternoon at Case Gym.
The win, BU’s sixth in a row, improves the Terriers to 22-4 on the year and 12-1 in America East action while New Hampshire drops to 9-15 on the season and 4-8 in conference play.
Junior Danielle Callahan led BU with a game-high 15 points, including three made 3-pointers, while classmate Rashidat Agboola finished with 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Agboola also added three steals and three blocks to her stat line.
Senior Mo Moran chipped in nine points and dished out eight of BU’s 15 assists. Senior Chantell Alford, junior Whitney Turner and sophomore Mollie McKendrick each finished with six points.
New Hampshire was led by 12 points from Elizabeth Belanger while Morgan Frame added nine points and nine rebounds. Kelsey Hogan finished with eight points and five boards.
After shooting 32.1 percent in the first half, BU posted a 41.4 field goal percentage to finish with a 36.8 percent clip for the game, while UNH shot 36.0 percent. BU converted 12-of-19 attempts from the foul line for a 63.2 free throw percentage while UNH went 5-of-9 from the charity stripe (55.6 percent).
The Wildcats held a slight edge on the glass, 38-37, but committed 17 turnovers compared to six for BU. The Terriers finished with a season-high 15 steals, marking their most steals since posting 15 against Maine on Jan. 11, 2012.
The teams traded baskets throughout the first 10 and a half minutes of the game before Frame broke a 14-14 tie with a jumper to give the Wildcats a lead they held for the remainder of the half. Agboola pulled BU within a point after hitting the backend of a pair of free throws but UNH used a 5-0 burst to take a 21-15 lead with 6:36 to go in the period.
McKendrick came off the bench and hit back-to-back jumpers to bring BU within two, 21-19, but Hogan answered on the other end to make it a four-point game. Both teams struggled to score for several possessions before another shot by Frame gave UNH its largest lead of the first half, 26-19, with 1:57 to go. BU scored the last five points of the period, including a 3-pointer from Sims, to head into the break down, 26-24.
The Wildcats opened the second half with a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 33-26 just under four minutes into the period. Following a jumper from Belanger, a quick 6-0 spurt from the Terriers brought BU within one, 35-34, with 12:52 to play.
After UNH pushed its lead back to five points, Callahan drained a 3-pointer to make it a two-point game with 11:12 on the clock. The teams endured four scoreless minutes before Agboola knotted the game at 39-39 with a jumper while drawing the foul. The junior was unable to connect from the charity stripe but Chantell Alford scored her first basket of the game to give the Terriers their first lead of the game, 41-39, with 6:38 to play.
Callahan followed Alford’s shot with another 3-pointer, as the Terriers started their run. The Wildcats went over eight minutes without a field goal before a trey from Belanger at 3:26 brought BU’s lead down to six, 49-43. The Terriers quickly grabbed a double-digit advantage following a three-point play by Agboola with 1:25 to play, and closed out the game by going 5-for-7 at the line to claim the 59-45 victory.
BU returns to action on Thursday (Feb. 21), when the Terriers travel to Albany, N.Y., to take on the Albany Great Danes. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
