Beliveau’s 15 points not enough as Wildcats fall to talented Terriers on road

Denise Beliveau dropped in a team-high 15 points, but the UNH women's basketball team fell to Boston University, 79-65, on Sunday afternoon at Case Gymnasium.

With the loss, the Wildcats fell to 8-21 and 3-13 in America East play, while the Terriers improved to 15-13 and 11-5 in conference play.

Beliveau was chosen as UNH's America East Player of the Game, rounding out the afternoon with nine rebounds and two steals. Alex Young earned Player of the Game honors for BU, registering a game-high 27 points, paired with four assists and three boards. 

Candace Williams notched her fourth double-double of the season, tallying 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, along with two blocks and two steals. Lauren Wells scored a career-high 15 points and collected three rebounds. 

UNH fell behing early, but didn't go down easily in the closing moments of the first half, however, as a Jill McDonald jumper sparked a 9-4 run by the Wildcats to close out the frame. Williams finished off the run with a jumper at the buzzer to bring the score to 42-33 at the intermission. 

The Terriers started the second half with seven unanswered points as Young kicked things off with a 3-pointer, helping BU build its lead to 16 with 18:44 remaining.

Even with the quick start, Wells ignited the ‘Cats, knocking down three consecutive jumpers on three straight trips up the floor. Beliveau finished off the string of points with a 3-pointer at 15:36, cutting the UNH defecit to eight.

Caroline Stewart broke up the run, netting three points the old-fashioned way, but UNH kept up the heat, with a 7-2 scoring stretch that got the ‘Cats within six points with 12:54 to play.

However, that was as close as the Wildcats came the rest of the way, as the Terriers came back with a 23-10 run that lasted just over nine minutes, eliminating any chance of a UNH comeback. 

Chantell Alford tallied 13 points, nine assists and three steals in the contest for the Terriers. Stewart also registered 13 points while pulling in a game-high 10 rebounds. 

The ninth-seeded Wildcats return to action on Thursday at 6 p.m. when they take on eighth-seeded Maine in the first round of the America East Women's Basketball Championships at Hartford's Chase Arena.