The Boston University women’s basketball team blew past Northeastern University at home Monday night by a final score of 60-48 in their season opener.
Led by senior captain guard Alex Giannaros and sophomore guard Aoibhe Gormley, the Terriers (1-0) are welcoming a new era of basketball to Case Gymnasium with seven new members.
Despite the youth of this team, the Terriers had a solid performance in their season opener against the Huskies. Their chemistry, across new and old players, has formed over the months leading up to Monday.
“We really started to gel together off the floor really well,” head coach Melissa Graves said. “The seven newcomers, they’re still getting used to some things and what we’re looking for … that’s going to be something we grow in through the non-conference.”
The more experienced Terriers led the scoring. Giannaros finished with a game-high 23 points and Gormley with 8. Freshmen forwards Allison Schwertner and Inez Gallegos followed in suit, with 7 and 6 points respectively, and sophomore forward Sisi Bentley added 6 more.
“I was really happy with the newcomers,” Graves said. “Our freshman Inez, I thought she attacked the basket really well. Same with Sisi, who was not a newcomer, but she didn’t get to play last year.”
While the victory was a team effort, Giannaros’ 23 points cannot be ignored. From an early 3-pointer to get the Terriers started, to being subbed out with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, she was moving all game long.
Giannaros ended with five threes, but a particularly special moment came late in the third quarter, with BU up 38-30.
Giannaros had the ball just inside the arc with a defender right on her. She made a few quick moves, got free and hit a jumper to increase the Terriers’ lead to 10. The Huskies’ next possession resulted in a turnover, and subsequently led to a wide open 3 by Giannaros on the left side.
The Huskies brought the ball down the court one more time, missed a layup, and Gormley, after the defensive rebound, hauled the ball down the court to a breaking Giannaros, who laid it up. The Huskies called timeout.
The ability to put together multiple positive possessions back-to-back with so much confidence is something Giannaros attributed to her four years on the team.
“I’m old now, so I have the experience. I know that we have a ton of new people and they’re going to be nervous, and obviously that’s going to take time,” she said. “So I knew that I was going to have to step up.”
Senior experience is important on a young team like this, especially to a team who has just lost their most valuable players to NC State University. Caitlin Weimar, who earned the Patriot League’s player and defensive player of the year for the 2023-24 season, was the rock of the team last season.
With Weimar gone, there are big shoes to fill, and the duo of Gormley and Giannaros might be enough to fill it.
The Terriers head to Hartford, Connecticut, to face off against another group of Huskies — but these Huskies are of a different caliber, having made it to the Final Four three of the last four years. They will face off against Paige Bueckers and UConn on Thursday, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
