Despite injuries, a three game road trip to start the season and a tough game against a nationally ranked team, the Boston University women’s basketball team (3-2) finds itself sitting in fourth place in a top-heavy America East conference.
The Terriers began their season on a three-game winning streak, beating the University of Rhode Island by 20 points in the opener, holding off the University of Missouri-Kansas City by a single bucket and notched another blowout victory against Northeastern University.
When BU returned to Case Gymnasium for their home opener against Canisius College, they were not as successful as they had been on the road, losing 70-64.
The Terriers were dealt their first road loss of the season on Tuesday at the hands of No. 7 University of Connecticut, 84-51. Though BU was blown out by a much bigger and more dominant team, the Terriers now have the experience of playing in a raucous atmosphere, something they hope will help them this weekend when they play in the Arizona State Tournament which features Eastern Michigan University and Arizona State University, two teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year.
The Comeback Kids
Ever since the start of the pre-season, the Terriers have been plagued by injuries. That list includes sophomore Jesyka Burks-Wiley, sophomore Brianne Ozimok and junior Kasey Devine.
Burks-Wiley has yet to play a game for the Terriers this season because she has been rehabilitating a torn meniscus since the preseason. On Monday, Burks-Wiley was in uniform for practice but only participated minimally, taking part in just the walkthroughs. Yesterday, though, she took a more active role during practice. The Terriers hope to have Burks-Wiley back by the time Brown University comes to Agganis Arena on December 6th.
Since sitting out the first two games of the season due to a case of mononucleosis, Devine has slowly been added to the Terriers’ rotation. After playing just one minute against UMKC, Devine played nine minutes against both Northeastern and UConn. Devine is set to take on increased playing time in BU’s upcoming games.
Ozimok has been sidelined the whole year with a foot injury and has yet to practice with the team this season. Though there have been a lot of injuries during the early part of the season, BU coach Kelly Greenberg said she is happy about how her team has dealt with the injury bug.
“Through the injuries, our team has been able to stick together,” Greenberg said. “But it’s great as a coach to be able to see your players come together and help each other out.”
Two for the Money
One player who has not missed any playing time has been junior tri-captain Cherri Raffo, the only player on the team that has started every game during her three-year career. The game against UConn was the 66th straight game Raffo started for the Terriers, giving her 2,073 total minutes played. If she matches last season’s 33.9 minute average over the rest of this season, Raffo will move into 10th place on BU’s all-time minutes played list.
Raffo had a close call in September when she injured her meniscus in preparation for the season. She had surgery but was able to make a quick recovery, making it back to the court for the first preseason scrimmage.
“Sometimes I forget she even had that surgery,” said Greenberg of her Cal Ripken-esque captain. “She is still in a lot of pain, but she is all guts. And she does everything she can for the team.”
Another Terrier who is in the midst of securing her spot in BU history is senior captain Katie Meinhardt. With her 12 points against UConn on Sunday, Meinhardt moved into 22nd on the Boston University all-time scoring list. She also ranks fifth in career three-point average and 10th on the career points average.
Hou-Dini
BU’s magic touch off the bench has come from sophomore guard Kristi Dini. As a freshman, Dini only averaged 2.1 points in 3.6 minutes per game, but this year, Dini has broken out of her shell, averaging 8.4 points and 17.6 minutes per game. She has been the team’s three-point specialist, shooting 10-of-23 from beyond the arc. In just her first five games this year, Dini has sunk more threes than she did in all 14 games she played in last season.
“There is a lot of good guards and a lot of talent on the team,” Dini said. “I just try to work hard, work with my teammates and do the best I possibly can.”
BCS Worthy?
This year’s schedule is one of the toughest in Terrier history. BU will face up to seven opponents that competed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. UConn and this Friday’s challenger, Arizona State, were both ranked in the top-20 of the final 2005-2006 USA Today/ESPN and Associated Press polls and are currently ranked No. 7 and No. 14 respectively. The schedule might not get any easier as the Terriers could possibly face No. 5 Duke at the Dartmouth Tournament later this month if both teams make it to the finals.
