BOSTON – Junior Alex Giannaros dropped a team-high 16 points to lead four Terriers in double figures, but the Boston University women's basketball team suffered its third-straight loss, a 71-60 decision to Bucknell on Saturday afternoon at Case Gym.
 
BU (13-9, 5-6 PL) shot nearly 58 percent in the first half to lead by five at the break. However, the Bison (8-14, 5-6 PL) outscored the Terriers 27-7 in the third quarter to snap BU's seven-game home winning streak.
 
Giannaros made 50 percent of her shots for the second-straight game, hitting four of her eight three-point attempts. Sophomore Anastasiia Semenova turned six baskets into 13 points, while seniors Caitlin Weimar and Kelsi Mingo each added 10 points.
 
Ashley Sofilkanich posted a game-high 21 points to pace Bucknell. Grace Sullivan registered 17 points, while Emma Theodorsson and Isabella King notched 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Freshman Audrey Ericksen drained two triples from the left corner to start BU's scoring, then Semenova's layup coaxed a Bison timeout 3:07 into the contest as BU went up 8-2.
• Bucknell closed the first on a 7-1 run, but Ericksen's free throw put BU ahead 14-13 after 10 minutes.
• Sullivan's layup after each side traded threes handed the Bison its first lead, but Giannaros answered with her own triple for a 20-18 Terrier edge 1:35 into the second.
• Ahead by one, Ericksen drove in a found senior Sophie Beneventine, who laid the ball in to make it 29-26 BU past the midway point of the second.
• The Terriers' largest lead all day was nine, after Mingo beat the shot clock with a left-wing three and was fouled. She completed the four-point play at the 1:12 mark to push the lead to 39-30, before Bucknell scored four points in the final minute.
• Corralling an offensive rebound after Semenova's miss, Ericksen found Semenova at the top of the arc for a three, extending BU's lead to 44-40 with 6:32 left in the third.
• However, the Bison ripped off a 19-0 run over the next five-and-a-half minutes, collecting five three-point plays with a trio of three-pointers to go up 59-44.
• Trailing 61-46 entering the fourth quarter, Giannaros and Weimar cashed in layups to pull the Terriers within 11, but Ashley O'Connor knocked down a jumper to replenish a 13-point gap.
• Back-to-back threes from Giannaros brought BU with seven, 63-56, with 6:27 remaining in regulation.
• Neither team scored for the next two minutes before Sofilkanich drained a floater with 4:25 on the clock. Weimar's layup on the right block from Beneventine's entry pass a minute later restored a seven-point divide, 65-58, but that was the closest BU got from there.
• On the next play, Sullivan made a layup, then O'Connor blocked Giannaros' shot, eventually leading to a Sofilkanich bucket to make it 69-58 at the 2:25 mark. 

STATS

• For the game, BU shot 45.3 percent from the field, and 10-of-25 from beyond the arc.
• The Terriers were 7-for-12 from three in the first two quarters, but 3-for-13 in the second half.
• Bucknell made just over 50 percent of its shots, including a 10-for-15 (66.7 percent) clip in the third quarter.
• BU tallied 17 assists on 24 field goals. Beneventine and Ericksen each collected five for a team-high.
• Rebounds favored the Terriers, 27-23, marking a season-best third-consecutive game BU held the edge on the glass.
• Weimar's nine boards and three blocks paced BU. 

NOTES

• Dating back to Jan. 20, a six-game stretch, Giannaros has made 12 of her last 25 three-pointers, good for 48 percent. She is averaging 14 points per game in that span.
• Semenova's 13 points marked her first game in double figures since Jan. 20 against Colgate.
• Mingo has totaled 10-plus points in three-straight games for the first time in her career. During this streak, she has made 10 threes in 16 attempts (62.5 percent).
• Weimar did not secure a double-double for just the second time since Dec. 9. Both games took place against Bucknell.
• BU sustained its first home loss since Dec. 5 vs. Saint Joseph's, and first in Patriot League play.
• The Terriers have lost three-consecutive league games for just the first time under Head Coach Melissa Graves, who coached her 47th Patriot League regular season contest on Saturday. The last time BU lost three conference contests in a row was Jan. 16-23, 2019.
• Bucknell improves to. 13-7 in the rivalry, sweeping the regular season for the first time since 2018.

UP NEXT

• BU hosts Army West Point on Wednesday (Feb. 14). Opening tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.