The Boston University women’s basketball team will welcome the Black Bears of the University of Maine to Case Gym tonight for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.
The Black Bears (7-17, 4-7 America East) left a blemish on the Terriers’ resume the last time the teams met up in Orono, Maine on Jan 23, when they knocked off BU, 82-77. Freshman Tanna Ross and senior Kris Younan teamed up to give the Terrier defense fits, scoring 22 and 18 points respectively.
Maine also dominated BU (13-10, 6-4 AE) on the glass, out-rebounding the Terriers 47-36, while the Terriers struggled from the field, knocking down just 39.7 percent of their shots.
Perhaps the most troubling stat from the previous contest was the discrepancy in the amount of times each team went to the line. While the Terriers trekked to the stripe just 16 times, the Black Bears were put on the freebie line an astounding 40 times, and the 33 points that resulted were the clear difference in the game.
Senior Kasey Devine, junior Amarachi Umez-Eronini, and sophomore Aly Hinton, three of the team’s top all-around players, each fouled out, while senior Cheri Raffo went the last 8:59 of the game playing with four fouls.
With a victory, BU will move into a tie for third with the University at Albany in America East standings. Currently, the Terriers sit tied for fourth with Binghamton University, which BU knocked off at The Roof last Wednesday, 82-75.
In that game, junior Christine Kinneary posted a career-high 23 points, her second consecutive 20-plus point performance. Kinneary’s scoring tear is certainly out of character. The point guard has grown a reputation as being an effective quarterback for the Terrier offense rather than a true scoring threat, evidenced by her 7.0 assists per game, seventh-best in the nation.
Hinton led the team with six rebounds in the contest with Binghamton, and has taken home the black lunch pale, awarded to the Terrier who pulls down the most rebounds each game, in five of the teams’ last seven games.
Maine will take the court at The Roof fresh off a 55-53 morale-boosting victory over Stony Brook University on Saturday afternoon. Junior Colleen Kilmurray led the team with 17 points and seven boards, closely followed by sophomore Amanda Tewksbury’s 16 points. Younan was the real hero, however, knocking down two clutch free-throws with seven seconds left on the clock to put the game out of reach.
