Four months and 14 days ago, the 2007-08 Boston University women’s basketball team took the court for the first time, posting a 70-66 victory over Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. The win would be the first of 20 for the Terriers, who would enjoy one of the most successful BU seasons in recent history.
Coach Kelly Greenberg and her squad charged through their early-season schedule with convincing wins over Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts, and a tough-luck loss to nationally-ranked Ohio State University at Agganis Arena on Nov. 17.
Led by junior defensive specialist Amarachi Umez-Eronini, the team relied on its aggressive, ball-hawking defense all season. The Terriers forced an average of 17.6 turnovers per game, holding opponents to a meager 0.7 assist-to-turnover ratio for the year.
BU’s offense was an efficient machine that ran like clockwork through the hands of junior Christine Kinneary, whose 2.68 assist-to-turnover ratio was third best in the country. The point guard averaged 6.7 assists per game, eighth best in the nation, and when opponents tried to take away Kinneary’s weapons midway through the season, the versatile guard started taking the ball to the rim herself, with back-to-back 20-plus point performances against the University of Hartford and Binghamton University on Feb. 9 and 13, respectively.
Teams began encouraging Kinneary to put the ball on the floor because, well, they didn’t figure that would be any more dangerous than her other options. The Terriers featured a number of dangerous shooting guards, including senior Corinne Jean and junior Kristi Dini. On a given night, either of the sharp-shooting bench players could catch fire from beyond the arc, such as Dini’s 19-point second-half performance against conference powerhouse Hartford, which included a halfcourt buzzer beater to knock off the Hawks on Jan. 5.
Junior Jesyka Burks-Wiley and senior Kasey Devine played harder than perhaps any two forwards in the America East. The undersized Burks-Wiley pulled down 5.8 rebounds per game, sitting near the top of America East’s scoring leaders for much of the season.
Devine, who spent an average of 25.7 minutes of every game battling on the court and the other 15 or so icing her perpetually-sore back on the bench, finished third on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per contest, while also pulling down a respectable 5.3 boards per game.
Sophomore Aly Hinton showed flashes of stardom acting as the Terriers’ top reserve. The 6-foot-1 forward led the Terriers in scoring three times, including an astounding 35-point performance against Northeastern on Nov. 19.
The most dangerous of Kinneary’s options, however, was senior Cheri Raffo. The 5-foot-7 guard etched her place in Terrier basketball history during 2007-08, recording her 1,000th career point during a Feb. 6 loss at the University at Albany. Raffo finished her career at BU with 1,147 career points, the ninth-best total in BU women’s basketball history.
“It was awesome,” Raffo said of being recognized for reaching the 1,000-point plateau. “It was an individual goal that I had had, but having a great senior year altogether — plus the fact that our team did well — it just means that much more. I was able to get the milestone and our team had a great season.”
The Terriers’ season culminated in a final, month-long charge to the conference championship. On Feb. 13, the Terriers were sitting at 5-4 in conference play, set to host Binghamton. BU topped the Bearcats, 82-75, sparking a run during which the Terriers won eight of their next nine games to reach the final of the America East Tournament.
BU finished its regular season in style, as the seniors won their last game at Case Gymnasium in overtime over Albany to clinch the third seed in the conference tournament.
“It was a great game,” Greenberg said last Sunday following the tournament’s conclusion. “It went back and forth quite a bit, and Albany played really well. We were down seven with 1:55 left, and we figured out how to get the game into overtime.
“It was just a real gutsy game for us, and then in overtime for us to hold them scoreless was just great. With it being Senior Day, and getting the number three seed, it just couldn’t have been a more satisfying day for our seniors.”
BU cruised through its first round matchup against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (an 88-59 win) and quickly turned its sights on the second-seeded University of Vermont. The Terriers and Catamounts exchanged baskets for much of the game, and BU, led by its superb guard play, came away victorious, 76-74, in two overtimes.
The next day, a tired Terrier squad struggled in the championship against Hartford, never finding its stride in the 61-45 loss.
The final did little to tarnish the Terriers’ successful season, as 20 wins and a berth in a conference championship game would be considered a success at any level.
“There were certainly a lot of tears in the locker room after the game,” Greenberg said following the loss. “It was a disappointment. I think mostly because we didn’t play our game, and, you know, we lost.
“Winning that game was one of our goals. We got to 20 wins [against Vermont], which was one of our goals. We’re really disappointed that we couldn’t end the season playing our style of basketball, but I really do believe we had a special season with this team. I really do think we have a special group of people here. All in all, it was a very successful season.”
