BOSTON - The Boston University women's basketball team battled for 40 minutes but came up short in its quest for the program's first Patriot League title, as the Terriers fell to Lehigh, 64-54, in the 2021 Patriot League championship game on Sunday afternoon at Case Gym.

Second-seeded BU (12-3) held a brief lead early in the third quarter and rallied late to get within three with under 5:00 to play, but fourth-seeded Lehigh (10-5) answered with three straight buckets to put the game out of reach. This was the Terriers' first appearance in the Patriot League final since joining the conference in the 2013-14 season.

Sophomore Sydney Johnson was named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team after averaging 19.3 ppg in the postseason. She led the Terriers on Sunday with 16 points while redshirt junior Emily Esposito also reached double figures with 11 points. Sophomore Maren Durant pulled down 14 rebounds, one shy of her career high, and added seven points. Senior Katie Nelson chipped in nine points and also added seven boards.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Lehigh led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the Terriers bounced back with a strong second quarter.
• They closed the frame on an 11-1 run and held the Mountain Hawks without a field goal for the final 7:36 of the stanza.
• Esposito gave BU momentum going into halftime when she banked in a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc that beat the buzzer cut the Lehigh lead to 31-29.
• The Terriers carried that momentum in the third quarter, quickly tying the game with a layup before Johnson hit a jumper to give the Terriers their first lead since early in the first quarter.
• Lehigh responded with sharp 3-point shooting to retake the lead and hold a 47-39 advantage entering the final 10 minutes.
• The Mountain Hawks pushed their lead to 54-43 with 6:59 to play.
• BU answered with an 8-0 run over the next 2:40 to make it a three-point game and force Lehigh to call timeout.
• The Terriers were unable to get any closer, however, as Lehigh quelled the run with three straight buckets to push its lead back to nine at 60-51 and ice the game.

GAME NOTES

• BU attempted just three free throws while Lehigh got to the stripe 14 times.
• The Terriers outrebounded the Mountain Hawks, 14-6, on the offensive glass, which led to 11 second-chance points.
• Lehigh shot 30.4% from beyond the arc and held the Terriers to just 20.0% shooting from 3-point range.
• This was Durant's second straight game with 14 rebounds.
• Nelson finished the season as the Terriers' scoring leader (12.0 ppg) and assist leader (4.3 apg), while Johnson was right behind her at 11.9 ppg.
• Junior Riley Childs ended the year as the team's top rebounder, averaging 8.0 rpg.