The Boston University women’s basketball team relies on its seniors to create a model of consistency to which underclassmen can look for leadership. In the first three games of the season, the seniors started out on a sluggish note. While they improved their overall performanceTuesday night against Yale University, the seniors still have room to improve as the season continues, said BU coach Kelly Greenberg.
“Our overall composure needs to change,” Greenberg said. “I thought at times we looked scattered for a BU team. Over the past seven, eight, nine years, we haven’t looked like that and I thought we did at times tonight.”
Greenberg said that this lack of poise from the Terriers (1-3) is not limited to the underclassmen.
“I don’t think it’s just an infusion of youth,” Greenberg said. “I actually think a lot of our experienced players are the ones playing like that, so I think it’s a combination of both.”
While the team has yet to find a consistent playing style, several seniors have stepped up to try and lead the Terriers out of their offensive slump.
One senior that has played with some consistency is guard Danielle Callahan. Tuesday against Yale (3-1), she poured in 13 points — tied for a game-high — and made five out of seven field goal attempts. She also hit the only 3-pointer she took, went a perfect 2-for-2 at the free-throw line and dished out six assists.
Although she put together a solid effort, Greenberg said she expects more out of Callahan in order for the team to string together wins.
“She did have a strong game, but in order for us to win a game like this, Danielle has to do more for us, in all honesty,” Greenberg said. “She gave up some threes that she had open.”
Senior forward Rashidat Agboola also had an improved performance against Yale, as scored 13 points, which was tied with Callahan for a team-high. She is second on the team in scoring this season, averaging 11 points per game and is tops on the team in rebounds with an average of 8.0 per game. Agboola was strong on the glass again on the night, grabbing seven rebounds and held Yale to 10 offensive rebounds.
“We did a good job rebound-wise,” said senior guard Melissa Gallo. “… That was one thing Coach mentioned, how this team was a very good offensive rebounder, and I thought that we shut them down very well in that aspect.”
Gallo looked better Tuesday night as well, chipping in with 12 points in just 23 minutes, going 4-for-5 from the beyond the 3-point the arc and grabbing three rebounds for the Terriers.
While senior forward Whitney Turner did not record her best numbers in the game Tuesday, she has been another source of offense for BU. Turner leads the team in field-goal percentage and has averaged nine points per contest.
Despite a better effort from the seniors, their play was not good enough, and the Terriers succumbed to the Bulldogs.
Greenberg said she wants to see improvement with her team and herself.
“I think as a whole we have to be better, all of us, including me, and it starts with me,” Greenberg said. “We have to get back to what we do well, and we need to figure that out. Because, what we’ve done well in the past doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what we’re going to be good at this year, and we need to figure that out as we move forward.”
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