Pina, Weimar Lead Terriers Past Merrimack, 66-52

Thursday, December 9

North Andover, MA

7 PM

Boston University

3-5,0-0Patriot

Merrimack

2-6,0-0NEC

Boston U.

Merrimack

Photo by: Elise Amendola

Pina, Weimar Lead Terriers Past Merrimack, 66-52

December 9, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Coach Graves/Weimar/Pina Postgame

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior Maggie Pina drained four three-pointers for 16 points, sophomore Caitlin Weimar matched her with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and the Boston University women's basketball program snapped a four-game losing streak with a 66-52 win over Merrimack on Thursday evening at Lawler Arena.

BU (3-5) trailed after the first quarter and trailed 31-24 towards the midway point of the second, but Weimar scored 10 consecutive points to give the Terriers a three-point lead at half. From there, the visitors outscored the Warriors (2-6) 22-11 in the third to take control.

Pina set a season-high in points and three-pointers with her effort, while Weimar added six rebounds and three steals. Junior Liz Shean posted 12 points off the bench thanks to a trio of triples, and classmate Maren Durant tied a career-high with 15 rebounds and added nine points.

Kate Mager led Merrimack with 15 points on 50 percent shooting from downtown, while Teneisia Brown registered 12 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Merrimack posted an early 5-2 lead, but Pina buried a pair of three-pointers from the left corner. Her second one staked BU to an 8-7 edge halfway through the first.
The Warriors came out of the media timeout on a 6-0 run as Amaya Staton laid in two baskets, putting the home team ahead 13-8.
Shean came off the bench and jolted the offense with six points, nailing a three from the right sideline, then taking a steal and hitting a layup while drawing contact to start a conventional three-point play.
The latter gave BU a brief 16-15 lead before Merrimack scored the final four points of the frame for a 19-16 score.
Junior Sydney Johnson ignited an 8-3 burst for the Terriers with a left wing three-pointer. Kate Mager countered with her own three-pointer, but Pina responded with the right-side three, then took a pass from Johnson off a turnover down the right lane for a layup, knotting up the game at 24 at the 7:24 mark.
Merrimack took its largest lead at the time, 31-24 on a 7-0 run. However, Weimar made five consecutive layups in the final five minutes, giving the Terriers a 34-31 edge at halftime.
With the score 36-34 in BU's favor, the Terriers made four of their next five shots, with two Johnson driving layups through the middle of the paint and a Shean corner triple.
BU extended the lead to 47-37, its biggest of the night, when freshman Alex Giannaros scooped up an offensive rebound, then faked a pass at the conference logo to drain a right-handed floater with 3:08 left in the third.
Weimar corralled an offensive board and willed a second-chance layup off the backboard and in, drawing a foul and hitting the ensuing foul shot. Shean then nailed another corner three with under 39 seconds to go in the quarter that helped the Terriers gain a 56-42 edge at the buzzer.
Neither side made a shot from the field until Paige McCormick knocked down a left-wing three 2:23 into the fourth, slashing BU's edge to 58-45.
The Terriers didn't get their first bucket in the stanza until snatching a turnover that turned into a transition layup for Pina at the 5:24 mark. The junior later drilled a three to make it 64-48 with 4:38 to play.
Weimar capped the scoring for the Terriers with her layup from redshirt senior Emily Esposito to push the edge to 66-48.

GAME NOTES

As a team, BU shot 44.8 percent from the field and 8-for-20 from deep.
Merrimack shot 35.7 percent for the game, but was limited to 6-for-26 shooting in the second half. The Warriors' 20 baskets are the fewest allowed by BU this season.
The Terriers assisted on 14 of their 26 buckets. Johnson dished out seven helpers.
BU also won the rebounding battle for the sixth time this year, 35-34.
The Terriers also held the edge in points in the paint, 32-24, and second-chance points, 13-10.
Pina's four three-pointers are the most in a game for her since she hit five against Lafayette on Mar. 7. She has four games this season with three or more triples.
Weimar's 16 points are the most in a BU uniform for the sophomore. She is shooting 21-for-33 (63.6 percent) from the field in her last five games.
Shean's three three-pointers are a career-high.
Durant equaled her career-high in boards from Mar. 9, 2020 against Lehigh. The junior has 34 rebounds in her last three contests.
Thursday was BU's first road win of the season. It also marked the first meeting all-time between the Terriers and Warriors.