Senior forward Riley Childs’ two free throws with 0.8 seconds to play sealed the Boston University Terriers’ 69-65 upset win over the Boston College Eagles. Separated by just three miles, the Terriers (2-1) and the Eagles (2-1) of the Atlantic Coast Conference faced off on Wednesday evening at Case Gym. 

Following a 29-point loss to Princeton on Sunday, the Terriers needed a big win and certainly got one. 

“It wasn’t the best showing for us, and for them to bounce back even mentally, and just dig into a really good team like BC,” BU head coach Melissa Graves said in a postgame press conference, “just really, really proud of the effort today.” 

BC senior forward Taylor Soule dominated inside the paint for the Eagles and totaled 25 points in the loss despite BU’s best attempts to contain her scoring. 

“The game plan was obviously try to limit her as much as possible,” Graves said. “She kind of went off a little bit toward the end, but that’s the kind of player she is. She’s going to take over a game.” 

With the two teams tied at 24 at halftime, the third quarter was much more back-and-forth. The Terriers’ play was highlighted by two 3-pointers by junior guard Maggie Pina. 

“I felt like my role, whenever my teammates can give me the ball with the great passes that they do, is to knock down those threes,” Pina said in a postgame press conference. “My teammates were able to get open and give me the ball, and I knew I had to make it because they got the ball to me.” 

Graves said she was proud of her team’s ability to play up-tempo basketball while still maintaining a presence with rebounds, a weak spot for BC. BU finished the game out-rebounding BC 34-31.

“Tonight we did a really good job trying to push and transition. We knew that was a weak spot for them because they crash the boards so hard on offense,” Graves said. “We out-rebounded this team, which is why we won the game.” 

Junior guard Sydney Johnson had a team- and career-high 26 points in the effort, shooting 8-for-19 from the field while excelling at the free-throw line, finishing 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. 

“I tried to be more aggressive,” Johnson said in a postgame press conference, “but also finding the right balance, like when to pass to my teammates, because my teammates are all so talented and they can create their own shots.”

Wednesday’s game was a homecoming of sorts for Graves. The former Wake Forest University assistant coach faced her former conference foe for the first time since coming to BU. While her coaching has proven to be instrumental to BU’s early-season success, she insisted this win was because of the players. 

“I’m really happy for the team to have this type of win on their resume,” Graves said. “They had fun today. They celebrated each other, and that’s kind of what our program is about.” 

The Terriers return to action on Sunday, when the University of Maine Black Bears (0-3) come to Case Gym for a 1 p.m. game.