At the end of the Boston University women’s basketball team’s game on Saturday, the Terriers lined up on the court looking dejected. After celebrating its seniors in a pre-game ceremony, BU fell to the University at Albany in a game that would have secured the Terriers’ first regular season title since the 2008-09 season.
In a contest tonight against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, the Terriers will attempt once again to grasp the title as they rebound from their uncharacteristic performance against Albany.
If BU wins tonight’s game and Albany loses to Binghamton University, the Terriers will secure the title.
“Well we really want to bounce back with a lot of energy,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “It was a disappointing loss on Saturday, so for us we really want to get back on track, we want to make sure we come at [UMBC] a more fired up team, we come out the more aggressive team and make things happen.”
Before the loss, BU (20-7, 13-1 America East) had strung together 13 conference wins. The streak allowed the Terriers to remain undefeated within the America East Conference, and continued BU’s undefeated stretch on its home court. With the loss, both streaks fell to the wayside.
While Greenberg was disappointed by the team’s loss, she said it would not hinder the team’s momentum going into the final two games of the regular season.
“It’s a wakeup call for me and for our players to be positive. We can’t get down,” Greenberg said. “Our goal wasn’t to go undefeated. Our goal was to make sure we take one game at a time and keep getting better, and we didn’t do that on Saturday.”
The Retrievers (14-13, 8-6 America East) will also enter into tonight’s matchup after losing in its most recent contest. Following a three-game win streak, its longest of the season, UMBC fell to the University of Hartford on Sunday, 66-54.
During the contest, senior Michelle Kurowski accumulated 12 points giving her a 13-game streak of scoring in double-digits. Kurowski is second on the team in average points with 13.2 behind classmate Erin Brown.
“They’re a veteran ball club, and they have very good basketball players on their team,” Greenberg said. “Erin Brown and Michelle Kurowski are very, very good and we just have to be really ready. They can put up a lot of points quickly. Those two can really shoot the three and take the ball inside.”
When the two teams met up earlier this season, BU improved its winning streak to eight straight during a 59-53 win over the Retrievers.
After back-and-forth play during the first half, the Terriers went into the break leading UMBC 31-30. BU went on to start off the second half with a 9-0 run, silencing the Retrievers’ offense until halfway through the frame.
UMBC proceeded to score 10 unanswered points to bring the game within three with just 21 seconds left; however, it could not complete the comeback.
“We know them very well,” Greenberg said. “They were the team to beat, they were preseason ranked No. 1 in our conference, and we haven’t forgotten that. They’re very good and we have to be at the top of our game.”
Senior forward Caroline Stewart, who led the Terriers with 14 points in their game against Albany, also led BU on the boards against UMBC with 14 rebounds.
Despite the prospect of winning the regular season title, Greenberg said that she doesn’t think the team is experiencing any added pressure going into the game.
“I hope not,” Greenberg said. “I really, I don’t know how individuals feel, but I know as a team we don’t feel that way. I never ever talk like we have to win this game.
“Even if we lose [tonight] it’s not the end of the world. We’re still a basketball team, and a very good basketball team. And we’re going to keep working hard and getting better.”
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