WORCESTER, Mass. – Visiting Holy Cross for a Turnpike Trophy matchup Saturday at the Hart Center, the Boston University women's basketball held on against the Crusaders, 64-58, behind Nia Irving's fifth double-double of the season.

Irving, the Turnpike Trophy MVP, posted 24 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor. Naiyah Thompson followed with 11 points and Katie Nelson also reached double figures with 10 points.

BU held a 13-point advantage early in the third quarter before Holy Cross battled back to lead by five, 56-51, with 6:10 left on the clock. Irving took over the game in the closing minutes as part of a 10-point effort in the fourth quarter to rally the Terriers to their second straight victory.
 
How it Happened

• BU's defense fueled its offense to open the game, as Thompson netted four of BU's first eight points off turnovers to put the Terriers on top, 8-3.
• Holy Cross briefly took the lead at 11-10 until Payton Hauck swung the scoreboard back in favor of the Terriers with a fast break reverse layup.
• Nia Irving continued the fast break trend by finishing in transition make it an 18-11 game as the first quarter came to a close.
• Irving tabbed the first four points of the second half before Hauck connected on a jumper in the lane to push the Terriers advantage to 24-14.
• Holy Cross responded with an 8-0 run to slice BU's lead to one possession with 4:25 left before the break.
• The momentum shifted as BU answered with an 8-0 run of its own to reclaim a 10-point lead with 1:02 remaining in the half.
• Kara Sheftic capped the second quarter with a buzzer-beater from just inside the arc, sending the Terriers into the locker room with a 36-24 command.
• Katie Nelson drilled a 3-pointer two minutes into the second half, giving BU its largest lead of the game at 40-27.
• The Crusaders caught fire down the stretch of the third, using a 13-1 run over the final 5:39 of the frame to reduce BU's lead to 44-42.
• BU and Holy Cross exchanged the lead twice before the Crusaders hit back-to-back 3-pointers en route to grabbing a 56-51 command with 6:10 left on the clock.
• Vanessa Edgehill put the Terriers within one possession, connecting from beyond-the-arc before Irving went through contact twice to put BU back on top, 58-56 with 2:09 to go.
• Irving stayed hot as she cashed in on a putback layup with just over a minute left to make it a 60-56 game.
• The Terriers would close out the game from the free throw to earn their second straight win in Worcester. 

Game Notes

• Irving was spectacular in the fourth quarter, hitting on 4-of-5 from the floor and tallied 10 of BU's 20 points.
• BU dominated the paint in the first quarter, netting 16 of its first 18 points in the lane.
• The Terriers earned their first regular season series split against the Crusaders since the 2013-14 season.
• BU held Holy Cross to shoot just 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from the floor in the first half and 33.9 percent (20-of-59) for the game.

Up Next

• The Terriers will host their annual Play 4 Kay game on Wednesday, Feb. 14 against American at 7 p.m.
• All proceeds from the game will go towards the Kay Yow Foundation.
• Donations towards the Kay Yow Foundation can be made HERE.