Feb. 22, 2014

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Despite a double-double from senior Rashidat Agboola, the Boston University women’s basketball team was defeated by Bucknell, 62-50, on Saturday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. BU drops to 11-18 on the season and 6-10 in Patriot League action while Bucknell improves to 15-11 overall and 10-6 in the PL.

Agboola posted her fourth double-double of the year with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Terriers in both categories. Senior Melissa Gallo was second on the team with nine points while sophomore Clodagh Scannell pulled down eight rebounds to go with seven points. Senior Whitney Turner finished with a season-high five blocks to go with six rebounds.

Shelby Romine (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Claire DeBoer (13 points, 11 rebounds) each posted a double-double for the Bison. Maree Clair O’Bryan also reached double-digits for Bucknell with 11 points while Audrey Dotson nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds and eight points.

Making 20-of-65 field goal attempts, the Terriers finished the game with a 30.8 shooting percentage with a 25.0 percent clip from beyond the arc (4-of-16). BU struggled from the free throw line by going 6-of-14 (42.9 percent). Bucknell shot 17-of-60 for the game (28.3 percent) and 5-of-15 from long-range (33.3 percent). As the top free throw shooting team in the conference, the Bison converted 23-of-29 attempts from the charity stripe (79.3 percent).Bucknell also posted a 55-38 rebounding advantage.

The first half featured two ties and three lead changes, as Bucknell took a 28-25 lead into the break. With the Bison up 8-4, Agboola got BU back on the board after the under 16 media timeout and a triple from freshman Sarah Hope brought BU within one. The Terriers then regained the lead on a drive to the basket from Gallo and extended their advantage to 14-10 following Hope’s second 3-pointer of the half.

Although the Bison went almost 11 minutes without a field goal, Bucknell took advantage of its trips to the charity stripe tie the game at 17-17. Scannell and Dotson traded shots from beyond the arc to maintain the tied game before Hope broke the knot with two shots from free throw line and junior Mollie McKendrick added a jumper. The Bison closed out the final three minutes of the half with an 8-1 run to take the 28-25 advantage into the break.

After a Bucknell basket to the open the second half, McKendrick scored on consecutive possessions to make it a one-point game, 30-29. Scannell then connected from beyond the arc and Agboola added a basket to give BU the 34-33 advantage with 14:01 to play. From there, the Bison embarked on a 9-0 run to open a 42-34 lead that they never relinquished.

Agboola added a pair of jumpers to cut into the deficit but a layup from O’Bryan gave Bucknell a double-digit advantage, 49-38, with 7:48 to play. Gallo checked back into the game for the Terriers and hit a pair of jumpers to bring BU within nine, 51-42, but a free throw from Romine gave the double-digit lead back to the Bison.

Senior Danielle Callahan drove to the hoop with 3:11 on the clock to make it a 54-46 game but Romine then went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to give the Bison a 60-46 lead with 1:24 remaining. Callahan and Agboola combined to go 2-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minutes before the teams traded layups to close out the game.

The Terriers will conclude the regular season with a pair of home games next week. BU will first host Army on Wednesday (Feb. 26) with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network.