Terriers Pummel American, 72-51, to Advance to PL Championship

Thursday, March 11

Boston, MA

6 PM

Boston University

12-2,10-2Patriot

American (PL Semifinals)

7-4,6-3Patriot

American

Boston U.

Photo by: Matt Woolverton

Terriers Pummel American, 72-51, to Advance to PL Championship

March 11, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Highlights Coach Moseley Postgame PL Tournament Central

BOSTON – Contending in its first Patriot League Tournament semifinal matchup, the Boston University women's basketball team erupted in the second quarter and never looked back as it took down American, 72-51, Thursday night at Case Gym.

With the win, the No. 2-seeded Terriers (12-2) will host their first PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Tournament championship game appearance on Sunday, March 14, at 4 p.m. against No. 4 Lehigh at Case Gym. The game will air live nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Trailing by two points at the end of the first quarter, the No. 3 Eagles (7-4) flipped the lead to start the second with a 3-pointer before Sydney Johnson led an offensive assault, as the Terriers worked a 15-0 run while holding American scoreless for six minutes to break it open.

The Terriers connected on 11-of-16 attempts from the floor in the game-changing quarter. Johnson went 5-of-5 from 3-point range as part of a 17-point effort in the first half and finished with a career-high 23 points.

How It Happened

Johnson netted the first five points for the Terriers, though the Eagles hit on four of their first five shots to take an early 9-5 lead midway through the first.
BU attacked American's defense as Emily Esposito and Maggie Pina drove for back-to-back mid-range jumpers before Maren Durant worked the post to tie it up, 11-11, with 3:28 on the clock.
Johnson connected from beyond-the-arc to put the Terriers back in front, and Esposito added another pull-up jumper in the key as the score stood at 16-14 in favor of BU at the end of the first.
Keeping the 3-point stroke red-hot, Johnson hit back-to-back triples before Riley Childs added another from downtown, paving the way for a 15-0 run as the Terriers took a 35-19 grip with 3:24 left in the half.
Johnson remained torrid from distance with another 3-pointer before Esposito and Katie Nelson closed out a 7-2 streak to put BU on top, 42-23, at the break.
BU continued to shut down American's offense, holding the Eagles to just 3-of-13 shooting in the third quarter as it pulled ahead, 57-30.
Durant and Johnson worked the lane to start the fourth, giving the Terriers their largest lead of the night, 61-32, with 8:57 to play.
From there, the outcome was never in question as the Terriers booked their ticket to the title game.

Game Notes

BU won its second consecutive postseason matchup against the Eagles and improved to 4-6 all-time in Patriot League postseason play.
Childs picked up her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Durant grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds, with 11 of those coming on the defensive end.
Esposito had her best game as a Terrier, going for a season-high 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

Up Next

The Terriers will make their 12th conference title game appearance on Sunday, March 14, at 4 p.m.
Fans will be able to watch the game on CBS Sports Network and also listen on the Terrier Sports Radio Network.
BU coincidentally was originally scheduled to host Lehigh, Thursday night's winner at No. 1 Bucknell, in the 2020 PL semifinals when the rest of the tournament was canceled.