Stout Defense Guides Terriers Past Eagles, 59-40

Wednesday, February 8

Washington, DC

11:30 AM

Boston University

17-6,12-0Patriot

American

5-18,4-8Patriot

Boston U.

American

Photo of women's basketball sophomore Alex Giannaros dribbling down the baseline.

Photo by: Robert Branning

Stout Defense Guides Terriers Past Eagles, 59-40

February 8, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Audio - Melissa Graves

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senior Sydney Johnson posted a game-high 16 points, sophomore Alex Giannaros added 12 points, and the Boston University women's basketball program captured its 12th-straight game with a 59-40 victory over American on Wednesday afternoon at Bender Arena.

BU (17-6, 12-0 PL) coaxed 27 turnovers from American (5-18, 4-8 PL), and forced the Eagles to shoot under 29 percent for the game. The Terriers led by as many as 25 points to help match their win total (17) from the 2021-22 campaign.

Johnson made six free throws for BU, who went 18-of-21 from the foul line. Giannaros made four of her seven shots, while freshman Sam Crispe scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Laura Nogues paced American with nine points. Leading scorer Emily Johns was limited to six points before fouling out.

HOW IT HAPPENED

BU opened the game on a 7-0, started with a left-wing Johnson three and layups from Giannaros and Weimar.
American scored the next five points, only for the Terriers to rattle off 13 straight points. Johnson accounted for seven points in the run, while Crispe picked off a pass and spun around her defender for a layup with 4:01 on the clock.
Leading 22-7 after one quarter, neither team scored in the second until freshman Anastasiia Semenova found her classmate Crispe on the right block for a layup 3:42 into the stanza.
With 3:43 until halftime, Semenova snagged an offensive rebound for a putback layup. A minute later, Giannaros drilled a left-wing three to give BU a 29-10 edge.
Entering the third quarter ahead 32-14, Weimar started with a layup, then rejected Lauren Stack's layup on the other end, all within the period's first 25 seconds.
The Terriers didn't hit their next field goal until the 4:00 mark, when Pina's dish from the corner found Crispe for a turnaround hook shot in the low paint to put BU up 39-21.
Ten free throws helped the Terriers maintain the gap, with the last coming on a three-point play from Giannaros by the right block on an up-and-under layup.
Johnson ignited the fourth with a baseline fadeaway jumper, then Giannaros and senior Maggie Pina cashed in reverse layups near the hoop to give BU its largest lead of the game, 55-30, with 6:12 to play.
Though BU did not make a field goal the rest of the way, American only made four, including two in the final minute.

STATS

The Terriers hit over 45 percent of their shots in the contest.
In the first quarter, BU shot over 64 percent, draining nine of their 19 baskets in that period.
American was 14-for-49 from the field for the game, including 4-for-21 from deep.
The Eagles' 27 turnovers turned into 24 Terrier points. However, American scored 19 points off 23 BU giveaways.
The Terriers won the rebounding battle, 32-26.
Thirty of BU's 59 points came in the paint.

GAME NOTES

The Terriers captured their first road win at American in program history. Previously, BU's lone victory over the Eagles in Washington, D.C. came on Jan. 25, 1981 in the Georgetown Tournament on the Hoyas' court.
BU's 12 Patriot League victories match the most in program history, joining the 2021-22 and 2019-20 squads.
Johnson has scored 10-plus points in 60 of her 95 career games. She is now averaging 14 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting from three against Patriot League competition.
BU has won seven of its last nine games when Giannaros scores 10 or more points. She is shooting over 53 percent in league play.
In her last three games, Crispe is 11-for-19 (57.8 percent) from the field.
The Terriers have now allowed less than 50 points in eight games this season. The 40 points allowed is the second-lowest effort, following the 39 at Navy on Dec. 30, 2022.
BU pulls within 16-10 of American in the all-time series.

UP NEXT

BU hosts Senior Day against Lafayette on Saturday (Feb. 11), honoring Johnson, Durant, Pina, Shean, and Annabelle Larnard. Saturday will also mark the team's Pride Game.
Opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.