WEST HARTFORD, CONN. – No. 3 seed Boston University (19-10) held No. 7 seed Northeastern (15-15) to just two field goals in the final 10 minutes of the game, and advanced to the finals of the Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Championship with a 71-53 semifinal win over the Huskies on Friday evening from Chase Family Arena.
The Terriers never trailed in the second half, but saw their lead sway between one and four points during an eight-minute span early in the period. That stretch ended midway through the frame, however, as a 10-1 Boston University run gave the Terriers a 54-43 lead with 6:51 remaining. Junior forward and third-team all-conference selection Becky Bonner started and ended the run with a pair of three-pointers, accounting for six of her 10 points in the half. Northeastern missed 11 of its last 13 field goals and Boston University scored 10 points in the final 2:25 to spread the margin.
Bonner led the Terriers with 16 points, and junior forward Adrienne Norris tallied 14 points and seven rebounds despite being limited to just 21 minutes—five in the second half—after picking up her fourth foul just over two minutes into the final stanza. Junior forward Larissa Parr and freshman guard Nadia Bibbs chipped in 10 points apiece.
Sophomore forward Michelle Decerbo scored a game-high 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Huskies, while junior forward Francesca Vanin netted 10 points.
The Terriers’ nationally-ranked defense produced 13 steals and forced 22 Northeastern turnovers. Boston University entered the tournament ranked seventh in the nation by averaging 12.6 steals per game during the regular season. Norris had four steals and Bibbs added three to key the defensive effort.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, as there were four ties and six lead changes in the opening frame. Northeastern trailed by just four at the half, 31-27, but shot only 27% (8-of-30) over the final 20 minutes.
Notes:
Boston University advances to the title for the second-straight season and sixth time in their history... The Terriers are 3-2 in America East title games, and last season captured their first championship since 1989... No. 1 seed Maine advanced with a 62-49 victory over Albany in the evening’s first semifinal... Boston U. is 3-4 all-time against Maine in the America East Championship, including 2-1 in title games... Boston U. defeated Maine 69-65 last season, as well as in 1988... Maine defeated the Terriers for the championship in 1990... It is the second straight season that Boston University and Maine have advanced to the title game with the No. 3 and No. 1 seeds, respectively... Last season the Terriers became the first team ever to defeat the top two seeds en route to winning a title.