Some teams make a habit of playing with added fire and intensity one night, only to follow with a lackluster performance the next. It’s what’s referred to as a letdown.
The Boston University women’s basketball team (10-8, 3-2 America East) will be looking to avoid such a letdown tonight, when they host the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
Coming off last Saturday’s thrilling 77-75 buzzer-beating victory at the University of New Hampshire, the Terriers are in the midst of a series of highs and lows in conference play.
On one hand, the team has won two of its last five games on last-second baskets, while Jan. 19th’ 89-40 thumping of Stony Brook University at Case Gymnasium left little doubt as to the team’s potential.
The team has faltered twice after big wins, dropping disappointing road decisions to Binghamton University and the University of Maine. Saturday’s road victory at UNH ended a five-game road losing skid.
BU coach Kelly Greenberg said she isn’t concerned about a potential letdown tonight, maintaining that the team’s focus is squarely on UMBC.
“The last two days, we’ve just been focusing on playing against [UMBC’s] zone,” Greenberg said. “They play a lot of zone. They play a lot of that Princeton stuff. We just focus on our next opponent, and we’re hoping that everyday we get better.”
UMBC (6-12, 2-3) features a solid core of offensive players. Led by sophomore guard Carlee Cassidy’s conference-best 17.5 points per game, the Retrievers shooting abilities are rivaled by few, especially from beyond the arc — where the team is shooting 33 percent and has knocked down a conference high 135 3-point shots.
“They always have [been a good shooting team],” Greenberg said. “They always have guards who have green lights and can shoot from 22-feet deep.
“A lot is about how they get open looks. We have to be ready for certain screens, and be ready for the back-cuts. We can’t get too caught up in one player.”
UMBC’s conservative style of play will most likely slow the Terriers’ fastbreak offense — one of the team’s biggest strengths.
“We talked a lot about how [UMBC] will take a shot and then they all get back,” Greenberg said. “They don’t crash the boards a whole lot because they don’t want teams running on them. We expect that there won’t be a whole lot of transition [offense] tomorrow night.”
The Terriers will be holding their breath before tip-off, hoping to get some good news from the team trainers and medical staff. Senior tri-captain Kasey Devine, whose minutes are already being monitored due to knee and back injuries, has been ill since Sunday with flu-like symptoms. Though Devine managed to practice with the team yesterday, her status is very much up in the air according to Greenberg. Losing the 6-foot-3 forward and her 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game clearly hurts the Terriers’ frontcourt depth.
Meanwhile, Greenberg could also be without one of her key bench players in guard Corinne Jean (4.3 points in 12.4 minutes per game), who turned her ankle at last night’s practice. Greenberg said both Jean’s and Devine’s availability will be game-time decisions.
