BOSTON – Senior Caitlin Weimar scored a game-high 20 points, junior Alex Giannaros added 14 points, and the Boston University women's basketball team overcame an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat American 58-56 on Wednesday evening at Case Gym.
 
BU (16-9, 8-6 PL) trailed 51-40 with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter. However, the Terrier defense forced the Eagles (9-16, 7-7 PL) to miss eight of their final nine shots from the field to secure BU's third-consecutive victory.
 
With the win, the Terriers move into a tie for second place in the Patriot League standings with Army West Point and Loyola Maryland, who both lost on Wednesday (Feb. 21).
 
Weimar made nine of her 12 shots from the field, adding six rebounds and five blocks. Giannaros drained all three of her three-pointers in the second half while swiping three steals.
 
Emily Johns collected 17 points to pace American, while Molly Lavin recorded 11 points off the bench.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• BU scored the first six points of the ballgame, while forcing American scoreless for the first 4:37 of the contest.
• Freshman Inés Monteagudo Pardo knocked down a baseline jumper with 1:25 to go in the first, but the Terriers went on a scoring drought for over seven minutes, allowing the Eagles to go in front 18-12 halfway through the second quarter.
• Weimar's second-chance layup from senior Kelsi Mingo's feed by the right wing gave BU its first field goal of the second quarter with 2:27 until halftime, then Mingo buried a straightaway triple to pull the home side within two, 21-19.
• However, American scored six points in a row to close the second, featuring a Lexi Salazar three from Molly Lavin, who stole BU's inbound.
• Giannaros scored the Terriers' first seven points of the third, including two triples in front of her own bench, to cut the BU deficit to 31-26 just 2:23 into the stanza.
• With 4:48 on the clock in the third, freshman Aoibhe Gormley stole the ball on Johns' errant pass to set up a fast-break layup that closed the gap to four. However, Johns responded with her own layup to make it 38-32.
• Trailing by eight after an Ivy Bales jumper by the foul line, the Terriers scored six points in 56 seconds, capped with Monteagudo's left-wing triple, to slash the BU deficit to 42-40. However, Bales' layup beat the buzzer to hand American a four-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
• Johns stuck two jumpers to jumpstart a 7-0 Eagles run in the fourth, extending the score to 51-40 with 6:09 remaining.
• Freshman Audrey Ericksen canned a three, then Weimar converted a nostalgic three-point play on the right block to pull BU within five.
• Bailey Garbee delivered a floater on the next American possession, but Gormley snatched Lavin's pass underneath the rim and laid the ball in, making it 53-48 Eagles with 4:48 left.
• Forty-two seconds later, Weimar bounced a layup off glass and drawing a foul from Kayla Henning, swishing the free throw. Her layup with 2:45 to play tied the score at 53-53.
• Giannaros briefly put BU ahead on a three behind Ericksen's left-wing screen, but Bales drilled her own triple in transition to level the score at 56-56 with 1:18 remaining.
• With six seconds left, American tried to push the ball in transition, but Ericksen intercepted the pass from Lauren Stack. Ericksen drained one free throw to put the Terriers on top, 57-56.
• Salazar was fouled with 4.3 seconds left, but missed both free throws, and Bales' heave atop the paint missed the rim and went out of bounds to give BU possession with 1.2 seconds to go.
• Mingo nailed one free throw, and Anna LeMaster's last-second three was off the mark.

STATS

• The Terriers made just over 40 percent of their shots, including 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) in the second half.
• American shot 34.4 percent from the field, including just 25 percent from three-point range.
• Five of BU's six threes in the game also occurred in the final two quarters.
• Rebounding favored the Eagles 45-30, including an 18-5 edge on the offensive glass.
• Mingo collected five of the Terriers' 13 assists with zero turnovers.
• Ericksen had four of BU's 14 steals, as American turned the ball over 22 times. 

NOTES

• Weimar is up to 10 games this season with 20 or more points, leading the Terriers in scoring for the 31st time in her career.
• Giannaros is now three triples away from reaching the top 10 in program history. Her 56 three-pointers this year mark a personal-best for the junior, eclipsing her 50 from a year ago.
• BU's 11:26 of lead time in the game was its lowest in a Patriot League win this season, and second only to 9:32 from the triumph over Northeastern on Dec. 22, 2023.
• The Terriers have won 21 of their last 23 regular season home contests, and are 12-2 at The Roof this year.
• Though American still leads the all-time series, 17-11, BU has won six-straight at home over the Eagles.

UP NEXT

• BU treks to Baltimore for a rematch with Loyola Maryland on Saturday (Feb. 24). Opening tip is slated for 5 p.m.