It was a hectic Winter Break for the Boston University women’s basketball team, as coach Kelly Greenberg’s squad used the time off to make final preparations for the start of America East play.
BU (8-7, 1-1 AE) kicked off its Winter Break schedule by dominating Georgia Southern, 70-53, in the opening round of the Virginia Commonwealth University SportsCenter Holiday Classic on Dec. 27. Senior Cheri Raffo drained four 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 16 points, while junior Christine Kinneary dished out 13 assists.
The Terriers’ momentum did not carry over into the Dec. 28 title game against VCU, as BU fell, 76-65. Foul trouble plagued the Terriers, who committed 24 fouls — including five apiece from junior Jesyka Burks-Wiley and sophomore Aly Hinton. Despite playing just 29 minutes, Burks-Wiley led all scorers with 20 points.
On Dec. 30, Kansas University handed the Terriers their second consecutive setback — a 71-57 road loss. Burks-Wiley scored a game-high 20 points for BU, which played in front of 2,904 fans at historic Allen Fieldhouse. In comparison, BU has drawn a combined 1,844 people to its five home games this season — an average of 369 per contest.
The Terriers began conference play with a bang, topping the conference front running University of Hartford, 62-60, on Jan. 5 at Case Gymnasium. Junior Kristi Dini’s half-court buzzer beater as time expired lifted the Terriers to victory. Dini turned in her best performance of the season, scoring a game-high 19 points — all of which came during the Terriers’ second-half comeback.
BU followed its emotional comeback win with a major letdown, falling to Binghamton University, 59-55, on Jan. 12 in Vestal, N.Y. The Terriers struggled mightily from the field, shooting an abysmal 33.3 percent — including just 3-of-19 from beyond the arc. BU, the nation’s sixth best free-throw shooting team at 80 percent, shot just 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from the charity stripe.
DINI-MITE PERFORMANCE
Dini was recognized as America East Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 7 following her 19-point performance against Hartford on Jan. 5.
Dini came off the bench to score all 19 of her points in the second half, sparking a 19-4 run by the Terriers after Hartford took a 16-point lead with just under 12 minutes to play. Dini hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 11:41 and 11:09 left in the second half, and scored six of BU’s final eight points.
Dini, however, is not the first Terrier reserve to provide a prolific scoring touch this season. On Nov. 19, Hinton came off the bench and poured in a career-high 35 points against crosstown rival Northeastern University.
“I definitely think our team has a lot of depth,” Dini said. “We’re all Division I basketball players. We all come out and compete every day. We always have different leading scorers and different players who step up each game.”
Dini is the second Terrier to bring home Player of the Week honors this season. Burks-Wiley was recognized after averaging a double-double over two games between Nov. 26 and Dec. 3. Burks-Wiley’s week was highlighted by a career-best 21 points against St. John’s University on Dec. 1.
THE END OF THE RECRUITING TRAIL
On Dec. 20 Greenberg announced the signing of three players for the 2009-10 campaign: 5-foot-9 guard Alex Young (Hickory, N.C.), 6-foot forward Caroline Stewart (Topsfield, Mass.) and 5-foot-8 guard Kasie Carbacio (Bridgeport, W.Va.).
Young attended St. Stephen’s High School, where she was named to all-conference and all-region teams in each of her first three seasons. She earned conference Player of the Year honors as a junior, when she averaged 16.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Young led her high school squad to three straight playoff appearances, topping the team in scoring each year. The senior is currently averaging 22.3 points per game.
Stewart won’t be traveling too far next season, as she makes the short trip from Masconomet Regional High School, where she has twice been named a Boston Herald All-Scholastic and Cape Ann All-League honoree.
This year, Stewart is a McDonald’s All-American nominee and Wendy’s Heisman Award candidate. The Salem Evening News named her Rookie of the Year in 2006 and Player of the Year in 2007.
Carbacio has led Bridgeport High School to three straight undefeated seasons in conference play, each of which led to a county championship.
As a junior, she averaged 12 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.7 steals per game. Like Stewart, Carbacio is also a McDonald’s All-American nominee. In addition to her numerous basketball accolades, Carbacio was also an all-state volleyball player.