HAMILTON, N.Y. – For the second-consecutive season and third time in four years, the Boston University women's basketball program is headed to the Patriot League Championship. Third-seeded BU defeated second-ranked Colgate 52-40 on Thursday evening at Cotterell Court.
Eight days after a 77-40 setback on the same court against the Raiders (18-13), the Terriers (20-11) coaxed Colgate to just 20.3 percent shooting, and led for over 38 minutes in the game.
With the win, BU travels to top-seeded Holy Cross on Sunday (Mar. 17) at Noon in search of its first Patriot League title.
Senior
Caitlin Weimar dropped game-highs with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks. Junior
Alex Giannaros added 14 points, four assists, and four steals.
Sophia Diehl was the lone Raider in double figures with 10 points. Leading scorer Taylor Golembiewski was held to seven points on 1-of-12 shooting.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After Weimar scored BU's first four points, Colgate took a 5-4 lead on Golembiewski's three-pointer. That Raider lead was the only one of the game, as senior Sophie Beneventine's reverse layup 23 seconds later put the visitors in front.
- Giannaros drained BU's first triple of the game at the midpoint of the first quarter, then Weimar's layup capped an 8-2 Terrier run to make it 13-7.
- Diehl's three cut the gap to five, but Weimar's 10th point of the first quarter put the Terriers up 19-12 after one quarter.
- Ahead 21-16 just under three minutes into the second, Weimar drew a double team by the left block, allowing a cutting Beneventine to drive unscathed for a layup.
- Weimar then scored the next four points, then freshman Aoibhe Gormley's driving layup extended the run to eight-straight points over three minutes, making it 29-16 Terriers with 4:11 until halftime.
- Ahead 31-18 out of the break, each team traded baskets in the first 2:20 of the third quarter, with Giannaros nailing a jumper by the charity stripe and Weimar collecting a layup from her fellow captain's dish.
- The Raiders closed the gap to 37-27 on a 5-0 run, all from free throws.
- From there, Weimar scored BU's final eight points of the frame, including a three-point play with 2:28 on the timer, to help BU build a 45-33 cushion heading to the fourth quarter.
- BU's defense didn't allow Colgate to score for the first 3:43 of the final frame. On the other end, Giannaros made two layups to make it 49-33, the biggest lead of the night.
- After Amarah Streiff's three-pointer at the 6:17 mark, neither side scored a field goal until Giannaros canned a right-corner three with 1:43 remaining in regulation.
- Madison Schiller nailed her own triple for Colgate with 1:19 to go, but the Raiders missed their final eight shots to seal the result.
STATS
- BU shot 20-for-34 (58.8 percent) inside the arc, generating 38 points in the paint compared to Colgate's six.
- The Raiders' .203 field goal percentage was a season-low. Colgate also shot just 5-for-24 (20.8 percent) from distance.
- The Terriers morphed 14 Colgate turnovers into 20 points.
- Giannaros and Weimar were the only Terriers to score in the second half. Eleven of Giannaros' 14 points came after halftime.
NOTES
- The Terriers improve to 3-1 all-time in the Patriot League semifinal round. Thursday marked the program's first road semifinal triumph.
- Now with 1,270 points in a BU uniform, Weimar surpasses former teammate Sydney Johnson for 11th place on the all-time BU scoring list.
- Giannaros has registered 25 games this season scoring 10 or more points.
- BU limited a foe to 40 or fewer points for the second time this season, and first since Jan. 27 against Lafayette.
- The Terriers have won 20 games in a season for the second-straight year. That last occurred from 2011-13.
- BU improved to 20-10 all-time against the Raiders, picking up its first Patriot League Tournament victory over Colgate.
UP NEXT
- No. 3 BU meets No. 1 Holy Cross in the Patriot League Championship on Sunday (Mar. 17). Opening tip in Worcester, Mass. is set for Noon.
- The game will air on national television via CBS Sports Network.
