BU Women bested in Beantown

1/12/2013 (Updated 1/13/2013 3:25:50 AM)

BOSTON, Mass.  Chantel Alford scored a team-high 16 points and Kristen Sims added 12 points,  leading first-place Boston University (14-3, 4-0 AE) to a 57- 52 win over Binghamton (2-15, 1-3 AE) in an America East womens basketball game on Saturday afternoon at Case Gym. Missing two starters due to injuries, the Bearcats hung tough against one of the top teams in the conference.

The loss overshadowed an 18-point performance by sophomore forward Sherae Swinson. She went 8-of-16 from the field and added five rebounds. In addition, junior guard Vaneeshia Paulk added 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.

I was proud of how we played tonight from start to finish, head coach Nicole Scholl said. We bounced back from a tough game at Stony Brook against a really strong opponent tonight.
Swinson had 12 of her points in the first half, keeping the Bearcats within 25-22 at the break. She drained five of her nine field goal attempts, including a pair of three pointers.

Boston, meanwhile, shot just 29 percent in the opening 20 minutes, misfiring on 24 of its 34 field goal attempts. The Terriers, however, scored 12 of their points of off Bearcat turnovers.
In the second half, Boston opened up with a 13-6 run in the opening 5:02 to go up 38-28. Sims scored four of her points during that stretch.

The Bearcats got to within 40-35 on a layup by junior guard Jasbriell Swain with 12:48 left in regulation. Junior guard Stefanie Jensen then trimmed the deficit to 48-45 on a three pointer with 5:10 left to go.

A three pointer by Alford increased Bostons lead to 51-45 with 2:44 remaining. At the other end, senior forward Kara Elofson hit one of two free throws and Paulk made a layup with 1:00 left to go, pulling the Bearcats to within 51-48.

Following a Bearcat timeout, Danielle Callahan sank a jumper with 45 seconds left, giving Boston some breathing room. Mo Moran and Alford then iced the game by going a combined 4-for-4 from the free throw line the rest of the way.

Moran finished with 10 points for the Terriers.

The Bearcats shot 40.7 percent for the game (22-of-54) and were 4-for-9 from beyond the three-point arc.

Binghamton returns home on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game against Vermont.

NOTES: Boston entered the game with a conferee-best RPI ranking of 41st  senior guard Mallory Lawes missed her second straight game with an injury while freshman forward Morgan Murphy, who ranked third on the team in scoring, missed her first game.

(Courtesy: BU Athletics)