Terriers Reach PL Championship After 84-68 OT Win Over Army

Thursday, March 9

Boston, MA

6 PM

Boston University

24-7,17-1Patriot

Army West Point (PL Semifinal)

13-17,10-8Patriot

OT 1

Army West Point

Boston U.

Photo by: Matt Woolverton

Terriers Reach PL Championship After 84-68 OT Win Over Army

March 9, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Highlights Postgame Audio - Melissa Graves, Maren Durant, and Caitlin Weimar

BOSTON - Senior Maren Durant and junior Caitlin Weimar each tallied double-doubles, two other Terriers scored in double figures, and the top-seeded Boston University women's basketball program advanced to the 2023 Patriot League Championship with an 84-68, overtime win over No. 5 Army West Point on Thursday evening at Case Gym.

The Terriers (24-7) and Black Knights (13-17) were knotted up at 68-68 after a four-quarter battle where each team overcame double-digit deficits. However, BU shut out Army in the extra stanza, making six of their seven shots for a 16-0 advantage.

BU advances to its second Patriot League title game in three seasons, and improves to 7-2 all-time in home games during the tournament.

Weimar posted game-highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Durant collected 18 points and 10 caroms. Both student-athletes dished out five assists. Senior Sydney Johnson scored 17 points while adding three steals. Sophomore Alex Giannaros shot 6-of-9 from the field for 15 points.

Reese Ericson led the Black Knights with 19 points on five three-pointers, while Sabria Hunter recorded a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double. Hope Brown totaled 12 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After Army nailed a pair of threes, Weimar hit a jumper to the right of the foul line to knot the game at 6-6 just 3:17 into the game.
The Black Knights scored the next nine points, however, ignited by Brown's triple, to go ahead 15-6.
Sophomore Lauren Davenport got a floater to fall while drawing contact for a nostalgic three-point play, starting a 7-0 Terrier spurt to pull within 15-13 with 1:35 left in the first.
BU trailed by as many as 10 points, 23-13, early in the second quarter after Hall drained a midrange jumper 29 seconds into the frame.
However, BU ripped off a 24-5 run all the way to halftime. Senior Liz Shean hit a corner three, then Johnson drilled one herself from the left win to put BU ahead 26-25 with 3:50 until the break.
With 1:23 on the clock, Johnson intercepted Kamryn Hall's pass when she was double-teamed in her own corner, and found Weimar in transition for a layup plus the foul. The junior hit the free throw for a 35-28 advantage.
Johnson stole the ball from Hall once more with 29 seconds on the clock for a layup that made it a nine-point Terrier lead at halftime.
The Terriers scored the first seven points in the third, with five from Giannaros and a Durant layup to make it 44-28 1:40 into the period.
Natalie Rhine's triple with 6:11 on the timer cut the gap to 10 points, but Giannaros responded with a conventional three-point play, sticking a baseline jumper and hitting the foul shot for a 49-36 Terrier advantage.
Ericson nailed a trio of threes in the third, her last coming with nine seconds left to pull Army with 56-49 heading into the fourth quarter.
Weimar started the frame with a layup after freshman Sam Crispe collected an offensive rebound, but Hall nailed four-straight points that shortened BU's lead to 58-53 in the first 90 seconds.
Johnson and Brown traded threes, but another Brown triple and a nostalgic three-point sequence for Hunter sandwiched Johnson's layup. The Terriers led 63-59, with 6:15 left after that point.
Following Sam McNaughton's three at the 5:06 mark, neither team scored until Johnson stuck a jumper with 2:54 to play, giving BU a 65-62 edge.
Hunter contributed another and-one play with 1:45 to go, however, forcing the first tie since the 3:50 mark in the second quarter.
Durant hit a free throw then got a layup to fall over Hunter for a three-point BU lead, but Lauren Lithgow was fouled on a three-point shot to head to the charity stripe, where she made all three foul shots to knot the game at 68-68. BU's last-chance shot didn't fall, sending the game to overtime.
Giannaros started the extra period with a left-wing three, then Durant scored six-consecutive points underneath the rim for a nine-point advantage with 2:02 on the clock.
Weimar drained two free throws plus a jumper, and Johnson put an exclamation mark on the effort with a straightaway three.

STATS

BU shot 50 percent in the game, including 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from three.
Army West Point nailed 13 three-pointers on 41.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc. For the game, it was just under 35 percent.
The Black Knights missed their final seven shots of the game, including 0-for-5 in overtime.
BU generated 42 points in the paint, giving it 134 across three games this season against the Black Knights.
The rebounding effort went to the Terriers, 46-38.
Six different Terriers had three or more assists, totaling 21 on 35 made baskets.
Johnson and senior Maggie Pina each had three steals, as BU recorded 21 points off 14 Army turnovers.

GAME NOTES

Thursday was BU's first overtime game since Jan. 25, 2020.
The Terriers improve to 2-1 in Patriot League Semifinal contests.
Appearing in its second Patriot League title game, BU has reached its ninth conference title game since 2000, and 13th overall.
Weimar has scored seven games this year with 20 or more points, all against Patriot League foes. She recorded her 15th double-double of the season.
Durant has achieved back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in her career. She has averaged 15 points and 12.5 boards on 13-of-19 shooting (68.4 percent) during the Patriot League Tournament.
Johnson moved into ninth place in program history with 475 career field goals, moving past Terry Shinkwin '81.
BU has won 10 games in a row when Giannaros scores in double figures. She has hit 50 percent or more of her shots in 14 games this year.
BU improves to 18-10 all-time against Army West Point, having won eight in a row. The Terriers are now 2-1 against the Black Knights in the Patriot League Tournament.

STATS

No. 1 BU will meet No. 2 Holy Cross for the Patriot League title after the Crusaders dispatched No. 3 Lehigh. The championship takes place at The Roof on Sunday (March 12) at 12 p.m., with the game airing on national television on CBS Sports Network.