Co-captain Sara Flood got Harvard back within four, but a 10-minute scoring drought doomed the Crimson. VanderMeulen netted two scores in the game’s final five minutes, but it was too little too late.

“We were disappointed in the first half with our efforts,” McMahon said. “In the second half we just pulled together. We had more pride.”

The Terriers dominated the opening minutes, rattling off five-straight scores to start the contest. Behind Taft’s two first-half goals, BU led 7-1 at the break.

“They clearly were bigger and taller than us,” McMahon said. “They just go so hard. They just try to ram it down your throat.”

The Crimson was also sloppy controlling the ball in the early going, turning it over 13 times to open the game.

VanderMeulen netted Harvard’s only score of the opening frame, her first of four in the contest—a game high.

VanderMeulen did most of her scoring despite facing double-teams throughout the contest.

“[VanderMeulen] was getting swarmed,” McMahon said. “They had a marked defender on her.”

Double teams are something the high-scoring rookie will have to get used to following an injury to last season’s leading scorer, Jess Halpern.

“Now she’s kind of the one handling the ball the most,” McMahon said. “She’s definitely not playing like a freshman.”

But the Crimson knows that it will take consistent play from the game’s opening minutes—rather than the play of any one individual—to get on the right side of the win column.