When the Boston University women’s basketball team last squared off against the University of Hartford, Kristi Dini had a night for the ages.
The 5-foot-10 junior guard came off the bench to score 19 points in the second half, including a buzzer-beating half-court shot at the end of regulation to give the Terriers a 62-60 victory Jan. 5.
BU will need another Dini-like performance when they travel to West Hartford, Conn. tomorrow afternoon for a 2 p.m. tip-off at Chase Arena.
Hartford (17-4, 7-1 AE) is the undisputed favorite to win the America East Conference, and the team’s physical style of play could give the Terrier forwards plenty of trouble.
Senior Danielle Hood, junior Erica Beverly and sophomore Diana Delva lead the Hawks’ interior attack. Hood is arguably the conference’s best player, averaging 15.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Beverly and Delva are both strong low-post presences, pulling down 7.1 and 6.9 boards per game, respectively.
“We definitely will focus on shutting down all of their forwards,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “[Their forwards] are their three best players, and I think their inside game is where they’re best.”
While Greenberg might harp on rebounding as much as any coach in college basketball, the Terriers’ performance down low has been unsatisfactory of late.
BU was outrebounded 47-24 in Wednesday’s loss to the University at Albany. For the season, opponents have outrebounded the Terriers by an average of two boards per game.
“[Wednesday’s] game was just wacky all around,” Greenberg said. “[Albany] didn’t miss as many shots as we did, so they had more opportunities to rebound. We’ve said it all along – when we rebound, we’re a very good team.
The Terriers benefited from strong guard play in the first matchup against the Hawks. Junior point guard Christine Kinneary dished out 11 assists, while the team shot 16-of-32 from the field in the second half, including 6-of-13 from beyond the arc. The sharp shooting and smooth ball movement helped the Terriers erase a 16-point second-half deficit to set up Dini’s last second heroics.
Greenberg, however, said she never wants her team to rely on the 3-ball.
“We don’t go into a game planning on [shooting 3-pointers],” Greenberg said. “If we catch the 3-point shot out of our offense, that’s great. But we don’t want to overshoot the 3. We just have to play every possession one-by-one.”
A particular area of concern for BU has been its recent road struggles. The Terriers have lost five of their last six away from Case Gymnasium, including disappointing losses to the University of Maine, Binghamton University and Albany.
In light of the recent struggles, Greenberg said the team is considering changing some of its pre-game routines, though nothing has been decided yet.
“We may [change something],” Greenberg said. “We’re not sure what yet, but we are definitely thinking about that. Our captains are talking about it, and so we may switch something up.”