Kevin Murray

Box Score

Boston U. BU 10-8,6-1 Patriot

Lehigh Lehigh 13-5,5-2 Patriot

Boston U. BU

10-8,6-1 Patriot

Final

Jan. 22, 2022

Lehigh Lehigh

13-5,5-2 Patriot

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Boston U. BU	12	14	24	17	67
Lehigh Lehigh	22	16	19	22	79

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | January 22, 2022

Terriers Sustain First PL Loss, Fall At Lehigh, 79-67

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior Sydney Johnson dropped a game-high 24 points, and classmate Maren Durant scored a career-high 22 points to go with eight boards, but the Boston University women's basketball program had its six-game win streak snapped with a 79-67 loss at Lehigh on Saturday afternoon at Stabler Arena.

BU (10-8, 6-1 PL) dropped it first Patriot League contest of the regular season. Down by as much as 16 points late in the third quarter, the Terriers came back within four, but the Mountain Hawks (13-5, 5-2 PL) maintained the distance to win their third in a row.

Johnson scored 20 of her points in the second half, and added five rebounds and three assists. Durant shot 75 percent from the field. Redshirt senior Emily Esposito notched 10 points, including six in the fourth quarter.

Megan Walker led Lehigh with 20 points, hitting 50 percent of her shots. Emma Grothaus recorded a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double on 60 percent shooting.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Terrier defense forced four Lehigh turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, but the Mountain Hawks had the early 7-4 lead at the first media timeout.
BU scored four straight points when Durant drew contact underneath while sinking the layup, then junior Annabelle Larnard put home an offensive board on the foul shot to pull within 17-12.
However, Walker buried a three, and Grothaus' jumper with three seconds on the clock staked the Mountain Hawks to a 22-12 edge after 10 minutes.
Neither side scored until the 8:11 mark of the second quarter when Johnson slashed down the left lane and placed the ball off glass and in, cutting the deficit to 22-14.
BU and Lehigh traded buckets through the next five minutes. Durant got the Terriers within 29-22 with her second and-one play of the game, then 31-24 on a layup from the right block to get the game to 31-24 with 2:43 until halftime.
At the 1:31 mark, Grothaus collected an offensive rebound and placed it back in while drawing a foul, completing the conventional three-point play. Walker then made the layup on the ensuing possession to give Lehigh its largest lead at the time at 38-24.
Down by 12 at halftime and 16 early in the third quarter, Johnson hit a stepback jumper, junior Maggie Pina drilled a right-wing three-pointer, and Johnson split two defenders for a driving layup to cut it to 44-35.
Ella Stemmer and Mackenzie Kramer combined for the game's next five points, however, and Lehigh kept BU scoreless for over two-and-a-half minutes to replenish its double-digit advantage.
The Mountain Hawks led by as much as 57-41, but Johnson scored seven consecutive points, the final three on a triple, and junior Liz Shean hit two free throws to cut BU's deficit to 57-50 at the end of three quarters.
Esposito hit three consecutive shots, third cutting Lehigh's lead to 62-58 with 5:49 to go. Clair Steele responded with a driving layup, then Walker underhanded a contested shot in to extend Lehigh's lead to eight.
With 3:48 to play, Johnson drained a stepback three-pointer, then made another shot after a Mountain Hawk turnover that trimmed Lehigh's advantage to 69-63.
Walker answered that last bucket with a three-pointer. Durant sandwiched a pair of layups with a Grothaus jumper, putting the score at 74-67 at the 1:39 mark.
From there, Lehigh iced the game on foul shots as BU couldn't connect on threes.

GAME NOTES

The Terriers shot 41.4 percent from the field, including a 53.1 percent effort in the second half.
The Mountain Hawks shot 51.8 percent in the second half, and went 9-for-30 from distance compared to just 3-for-18 for BU.
Rebounding favored Lehigh, 46-34.
Forty-two of the Terriers' points came inside the paint, and BU cashed in 16 points off 15 Mountain Hawk turnovers.
Saturday was just the second time since the beginning of December BU allowed 70-plus points on defense.
Durant's output was her first-career game with 20 or more points. She matched a career-best with nine field goals.
Johnson is now averaging 16.9 points per game during Patriot League play, becoming one of just three student-athletes in the league averaging 16.5 points or better in that span.
Esposito now has seven games with 10 or more points this season.
Lehigh now leads the all-time series 10-9.

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