Instant takeaways from BU women's basketball's 67-63 loss to Bucknell
The Terriers got close against a quality league opponent again, and couldn't get across the finish line... again.
BOSTON — When push came to shove on Wednesday night, the Boston University women’s basketball team couldn’t make the plays.
BU, reeling at 2-9 in the Patriot League entering its matchup with Bucknell at Case Gym, once again gave a quality conference opponent a real run. But despite keeping the Bison (13-10, 8-4 PL) within a couple possessions throughout the second half, the Terriers never did climb all the way over the hump.
BU lost, 67-63, falling to 8-15 and 2-10 in conference.
Late in the third quarter, when sophomore guard Aoibhe Gormley (16 points, 4-of-5 shooting) erupted for eight points in three possessions — cutting Bucknell’s lead to six after each bucket — BU couldn’t get a stop at the other end. When Gormley left the floor, the Terriers surrendered five unanswered points to fall behind by 11 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
BU battled from there and eventually got the lead down to four points with over two minutes to play. But then star Bucknell forward Ashley Sofilkanich — who BU had dominated all game — blocked a layup at one end and made a critical layup at the other, giving the Bison breathing room with 90 seconds to go. BU cut the lead back to four twice more, but Sofilkanich responded with two free throws each time.
The Terriers had their chances, like they have had in a majority of their league games this season, but couldn’t take them. Again.
Here are three more takeaways from the loss:
BU couldn’t score in the first half, and it cost them.
BU flew out of the gates, scoring 14 points in the first six minutes of the game, then fell apart. At one point in the second quarter, BU hadn’t scored in over eight minutes, and in the final 14 minutes of the first half, the Terriers made just three field goals.
Bucknell opened up a double-digit lead during that drought, one that BU couldn’t come back from.
In the first half, it felt like a majority of the Terriers’ offensive possessions drained the entire shot clock. BU couldn’t get anything it wanted for the majority of the game, and on the rare possessions it did, it was either hesitant to pull the trigger on 3-pointers or unable to finish at the rim. The Terriers only scored 23 points in the first half.
And while BU’s offense improved drastically in the second half, it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback. The Terriers shot 57 percent after halftime and eventually finished with four different players in double-digit scoring but had dug themselves into too deep a hole.
Head coach Melissa Graves has lamented BU’s inability to put together a full 40-minute performance all season, and that flaw bit BU again on Wednesday.
BU handled the Patriot League’s leading scorer.
Bucknell sophomore forward Ashley Sofilkanich was averaging 20.5 points and 9 rebounds per game entering Wednesday. She finished with 11 points (3 of 6 shooting), 4 boards and 6 assists.
The two bigs BU played — freshman Allison Schwertner and junior Anete Adler — both easily scored over Sofilkanich on several occasions, and at the other end, dominated the conference’s leading scorer when the ball reached her in the post. Adler had 13 points and two blocks; Schwertner had 10 points and six rebounds.
Sofilkanich had 22 rebounds, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in that January loss. Even though BU wasn’t good enough on defense to win, that was a step in the right direction for a group that’s struggled to guard throughout conference play.
Bella McLaughlin missed the game and wore a boot on her right foot.
The sophomore transfer guard (7 points per game, third on the team) has been a critical contributor off the bench for most of the season, but missed her third game of the season on Wednesday.
She wore a boot on her right foot.
Accordingly, freshman guard Hildur Gunnsteinsdóttir played seven minutes off the bench. Graves also made changes to her starting lineup, replacing sophomore forward SiSi Bentley with sharp-shooting sophomore Inés Monteagudo.