Terriers Earn 64-61 Overtime Victory at Vermont

In a thrilling 64-61 overtime victory at Vermont, the Boston University women’s basketball team was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line in the extra frame and featured four players in double figures in the February 7 contest against the Catamounts (12-10, 6-3 America East). The Terriers (15-6, 9-0 America East) remained perfect in America East action, picking up their ninth straight win in league play and their 10th straight overall.

Amarachi Umez-Eronini (CAS’09), the Terriers’ America East Player of the Game, was a standout, with 13 points and 4 assists and matching a career high with 6 steals. Jesyka Burks-Wiley (CAS’09) posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Aly Hinton (CAS’10) added 12 points and 10 boards. Christine Kinneary (CAS’09) chipped in 10 points, 2 steals, and 3 assists.

The Terriers were 16-for-22 from the line for the game and posted 30 points in the paint, holding the Catamounts’ inside game to 22 points. BU forced 17 turnovers and scored 16 points off those miscues.

In the extra period, the Terriers took it to Vermont early, outscoring their opponent 6-0, before Amy Rosenkrantz hit a three from the far side to bring the score to 60-57. Courtnay Pilypaitis hit two free throws on the next possession to make it a one-point game with 1:28 remaining, but Hinton sunk both free throw attempts with 24 seconds left. Pilypaitis attempted a desperation three-pointer with three seconds left, but Kinneary grabbed the rebound and held on for the three-point victory.

To start the game, Vermont jumped out to an early 6-0 advantage and held BU scoreless through the first four minutes of the contest, before Umez-Eronini broke the streak at 16:04 on a three-point play. Over the next four minutes, Vermont built a nine-point advantage backed by a 9-2 stretch, moving the score to 15-6 at 11:26. The deficit was short-lived, however, as Umez-Eronini picked up a crucial steal at half court and went in for the easy layup, and Kristi Dini (SAR’09) followed up with a long three from the left side to cut the lead to six, 17-11, at 8:22. After that, the Terriers kept it to within two possessions for the remainder of the half.

Kinneary made it a two-point game, 19-17, as she drove to the basket, cutting through the defense, for a layup at 5:59. Alex Young (COM’12) came in off the bench to score five straight points for the Terriers, and the Catamounts hit the long shot as the score moved to 27-25. To close out the first half, Umez-Eronini grabbed her fourth steal and sprinted towards the baseline to pick up her team-leading eighth point of the game, while UVM’s May Kotsopoulos scored her first field goal of the contest to close out the first-half scoring at 31-28, in UVM’s favor.

Kinneary knotted the score at 33 with a layup at 14:38, and five minutes later Umez-Eronini dished off the ball to Dini, who unloaded a long, off-balance trey that gave BU its first lead of the game, 40-39. Back-and-forth action ensued before a 7-0 run lifted the Terriers to a 49-43 advantage with just over six minutes remaining in the match.

With 1:20 left in the game, UVM’s Pilypaitis hit two free throws to cut the Catamounts’ deficit to one, 53-52. A key steal at half court allowed Umez-Eronini to go in for the layup and force UVM to foul with 19 seconds left on the clock, but Pilypaitis made the play with four seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 54 and sending it into overtime.

BU will return to the court on Wednesday, February 11, when it hosts Stony Brook at Case Gym at 7 p.m.

Tickets for Terrier women’s basketball are available in advance of agame at the Agganis Arena ticket office, 925 Commonwealth Ave.,or online.On game days, the Walter Brown ticket office in the Case Gymnasium, 285 BabcockSt., opens one hour prior to a game. Discounted tickets for facultyand staff are available through the ticket office orby calling 617-353-GOBU. For more information, visit AgganisArena.com.