Torrid Shooting Propels Terriers

One shot fell, and then another found the bottom of the net. And before long, Boston University was streaking to a comfortable victory.

The Terriers shot an astounding 66.7 percent from the field in the second half, outscoring the Harvard women’s basketball team 42-27 en route to a 70-59 win last night at Lavietes Pavilion.

Scoring at a 38.9 clip from the three-point line, BU also went 15-for-19 from the free throw line—including several clutch shots down the stretch when Harvard employed the steal-foul strategy to try to claw back into the game.

“[The Terriers’] shooting was very good—by everybody on their team—because they’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Crimson coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. “They just catch and shoot—they’re very good at that.”

BU’s torrid shooting helped them rally from a 12-point deficit late in the first half, as the Terriers (6-2) finished the half on an 8-0 run and then added 14 unanswered points to start the second half.

The 22-point swing left Harvard (2-6) trailing 42-32 with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

In a game marked by scoring runs, the Crimson managed to cut the lead to four points with a 10-6 spurt halfway through the second. But another BU surge as the clock wound down gave the Terriers a 60-47 cushion before Harvard began fouling to stop the clock.

GUARD PLAY

Senior guard Laura Robinson picked up the slack in a Harvard backcourt missing injured co-captain Jess Holsey, who missed her third consecutive game and sat on the sidelines with a taped hand.

Holsey, out indefinitely with the injury, watched roommate Robinson pour in a career-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Robinson went 4-for-5 from three-point range and didn’t miss a shot in the first half, converting all five of attempts from the field.

But the game’s most stunning performance came from BU’s Katie Meinhardt.

The junior guard tallied 23 points—including seven consecutive points in the second half—and nailed several off-balance shots in the second half to keep the Crimson at bay.

“[Meinhardt] wasn’t a primary focus in our defense tonight,” Robinson said, adding, “She hit some tough shots. We just have to get out to the perimeter a little bit more.”

Harvard guard Emily Tay, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week, also made an impact for the Crimson. The freshman logged six points, five assists, and two steals in 24 minutes of play.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Though Harvard took advantage of its chances in the first half with a 6-of-7 from the foul line and seven second-chance points, the Crimson struggled to find easy points in the second frame.

Harvard could not take advantage of its early trips to the foul line in the second half, missing the front end of two one-and-ones.

The Crimson made just nine field goals after the half and shot only 55.6 percent from the foul line in the latter frame.

“We got the shots we wanted, and a lot of them were in and out,” Delaney-Smith said. “There’s a basketball god somewhere that’s testing me—otherwise she would have put those in.”

FINAL TICKS

The Crimson had 10 turnovers in the first half…Harvard shot at a 46.2 percent clip from the field in the first half before going only 9-for-32 in the second…Before the start of the game, Delaney-Smith was presented with an award honoring her for being named the 2005 USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year. Delaney-Smith guided the World University Games team to an unblemished 7-0 record and a gold medal this past summer in Izmir, Turkey.

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.