BOSTON — Junior forward Anete Adler finished with 24 points and senior guard Alex Giannaros scored 18 on 6-of-10 three-point shooting as the Boston University women's basketball team powered their way to an 82-72 win over the American Eagles on senior day at Case Gym Saturday.
 
BU (10-16, 4-11 PL) took the lead early and never looked back, scoring 40 points in the first half on 50% shooting (17-of-34). The Terriers put American (1-25, 1-14 PL) away in the second half, knocking down shots at a 53.8% (14-for-26) clip compared to the Eagles' 42.4% (14-for-33) mark in the second.
 
Adler's 24 points are a career high for her, blowing past her previous high tally of 19 against Holy Cross on Jan. 27. It was an efficient day for the 6-foot-5 Estonia native as she went 10-of-11 and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, also adding in two blocks.
 
On the other side, American was led by Elizabeth Archer, who went 5-of-12 from the field and knocked down three of the Eagles' 14 triples.
 
Prior to the game, the Terriers celebrated senior day, honoring seniors Natalie Jasper, Alex Giannaros and team manager Vanessa Rosa with an on-court ceremony.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• BU got off to a good start as Giannaros knocked down her first three of the game with 9:04 left in the first.
• Adler started her scoring with 4:53 left in the first, kickstarting a 15-6 run that would stretch the rest of the quarter, with Adler contributing seven of the BU points. BU extended the lead to 20-10 after one.
• The Terriers stayed hot in the second, going on a quick 9-0 run capped by a Giannaros three to push the lead to 29-13.
• American fought back, trimming the lead to 10 with 2:28 left in the half, and the teams traded buckets until the break with the Terriers leading, 40-30.
• The Eagles came out hot in the second, cashing in on three triples and a layup to cut the BU lead to just four, but then Giannaros countered with her fourth three of the contest and Allison Schwertner hit a layup with 6:14 left in the third to make it 50-41 Terriers.
•  Adler and sophomore Aoibhe Gormley combined for nine points over the next three minutes, pushing BU's lead back out to double digits.
• With eight seconds left in the third quarter, freshman Bella McLaughlin swiped away an American inbounds pass and got to the free throw line, hitting both shots and making it 65-52 entering the final quarter.
• The Terriers started the frame with two Giannaros threes, but American immediately answered with two of its own.
• Adler once again went to work in the post, scoring five of seven Terrier points over the next two minutes and pushing the Terriers' lead to their largest of the day at 78-61.
• The Eagles tried to cut into the deficit with a quick 8-0 run, but BU staved off any notion of a comeback as McLaughlin dropped in a layup with 1:05 to play and BU held on for a convincing win.

STATS

• The Terriers assisted on 22 of the team's 31 field goals.
• BU finished with 42 points in the paint compared to American's 18.
• On top of Adler and Giannaros, sophomore Aoibhe Gormley contributed 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Junior SiSi Bentley scored six points and notched seven assists in the win.
• BU only trailed by two in the first quarter before leading the rest of the way.

NOTES

• 82 points is the highest the Terriers have scored this season.
• Giannaros' six threes brings her career total to 220 and moves her into third all-time at BU in career three-pointers, passing Alex Young '12, who finished with 218.
• Bentley's seven assists is a career high for her, which had previously been two assists.
• Adler now has six double-digit scoring games this season and set a new career high in field goals made with 10.
• The Terriers' 22 assists is tied for the season high, with the other performance coming against Yale on Dec. 29.