LEWISBURG, Pa. (Interstat) — On a afternoon when its offense clicked with ruthless efficiency, the Boston University women’s basketball team delivered a commanding defensive performance to secure a 68-54 victory over Bucknell in a Patriot League contest Saturday at Sojka Pavilion.

The Terriers, who entered the game as significant underdogs according to advanced metrics, snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 8-17 overall. The Bison fell to 8-16.

The most important part of the game was Boston University’s immediate and sustained offensive execution, which built a lead Bucknell could never seriously threaten. The Terriers opened the game on a 13-0 run, hitting their first five shots from the field, and never looked back. That blistering start, fueled by precise ball movement and confident shooting, established a tone of control that lasted the entire evening.

Boston University’s attack was a model of efficiency, scoring 68 points on just 56 possessions for an offensive rating of 122.2. The Terriers shot 53.3% from the field (24 of 45) and 40% from three-point range (8 of 20). They were also nearly perfect from the free-throw line, making 12 of 14 attempts.

Defensively, Boston University smothered the Bucknell shooters. The Bison were held to 32.7% shooting overall (17 of 52) and a frigid 21.4% from beyond the arc (6 of 28). Despite gathering 11 offensive rebounds, Bucknell’s inability to convert those second chances into consistent points proved fatal, as they managed an offensive rating of just 91.5.

The Terriers were led by a dominant performance from sophomore forward Anastasiia Semenova. The 6-foot-2 native of St. Petersburg, Russia, scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots in 34 minutes. Her interior scoring and defensive presence were pivotal, marking her highest scoring output in recent weeks.

She was expertly supported by backcourt mates Bella McLaughlin and Inés Monteagudo. McLaughlin, a 5-foot-6 guard from Hampden, Maine, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Monteagudo, a 5-foot-11 guard from Valencia, Spain, played a game-high 37 minutes and poured in 20 points, including four three-pointers, while adding four rebounds.

For Bucknell, the offensive struggles were widespread. Reese Zemitis, a 6-foot guard from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, led the team with 14 points. Mariah Hardy, a 6-foot-1 forward from Baltimore, added 10 points and six rebounds. Point guard Tuana Coskun of Istanbul, Turkey, finished with 10 points and five assists but was hampered by inefficient shooting.

The game’s trajectory was set from the opening tip, which Semenova won. McLaughlin scored the game’s first two baskets on drives to the hoop, and Monteagudo soon followed with a three-pointer. By the time Bucknell coach Trevor Woodruff called a full timeout with 7:10 remaining in the first quarter, his team trailed 9-0 and had missed its first four shots.

Bucknell showed brief signs of life late in the first quarter, using a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 21-16 by the period’s end. However, the Terriers’ defense tightened in the second quarter, holding the Bison to just 16 points again. A critical 8-0 run by Boston University, capped by another Monteagudo three-pointer, pushed the lead back to 13 points and ensured the Terriers took a 28-22 advantage into halftime.

Any hope of a Bucknell comeback was extinguished in the third quarter. Boston University came out of the break and immediately stretched the lead, opening the period with a 9-2 burst. The Terrier lead ballooned to as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter as Semenova and McLaughlin consistently answered any minor Bucknell push with timely scores.

The victory avenged a 62-51 home loss to Bucknell just two weeks prior on Jan. 31. According to Interstat’s ELO system, Bucknell had been projected with a 76.4% probability to win Saturday’s rematch.

Boston University will look to build on the win when it travels to face Colgate on Wednesday. Bucknell aims to regroup on the road at American, also on Wednesday.

Attendance was 478 at the 4,000-seat Sojka Pavilion.