The numbers are considerable: 25.7 points, 18.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists.
They represent the average combined contribution per game of Boston University women’s basketball forwards Adrienne Norris, Larissa Parr and Becky Bonner last season. With graduation stealing all three from the Terriers’ roster in 2005-06, BU will be depending on a largely inexperienced collection of forwards to guide the team to America East success.
While 2005 marked the departure of the three go-to wings, it also marks the return of junior Erica Kovach and senior Shannon Petranoff. After appearing in 14 of the first 15 games, Kovach missed the final 16 games of last season with a knee injury. Petranoff was unable to suit up at all, sidelined the whole season with a serious ankle injury.
Making her return in this year’s season opener against St. John’s University, Kovach collected seven rebounds. She followed that up with a 10-point performance against Northeastern University, where she went 4-for-4 to open the game, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
“She has got great hands, knows how to use her body for rebounding, and she’s a scorer,” said coach Kelly Greenberg. “She gives us good minutes. As she gets more and more healthy and in shape, her minutes will keep going up.”
Still in a knee brace and occasionally limping as she subs in and out of games, Kovach is playing in considerable pain. But she hasn’t let the discomfort become much of any impediment. The Northeastern game saw Kovach dive to the floor to scramble for possession.
Kovach, a 6-foot wing from Texas, has become a leader for the team’s forwards, a role that Greenberg appreciates.
“Even Shannon, who is a senior, has never played many minutes, so Erica definitely is [mentoring younger players],” Greenberg said. “When she’s out there, she kind of takes control of the forwards. Even on the bench, she’s telling them things. She just has a great feel for the game and when to do something.”
Joining Kovach in the frontcourt are Petranoff, who pulled down six rebounds in just 15 minutes against St. John’s, sophomores Kasey Devine and Corinne Jean and freshmen Jesyka Burks-Wiley and Brianne Ozimok.
This year’s forwards will have to crash the boards with a purpose to make up for the loss of Parr, Norris and Bonner. The trio accounted for more than half of the team’s rebounds last season.
After being outrebounded, 51-31, against St. John’s in the season opener, the Terriers responded by outrebounding Northeastern, 42-33, in the next game.
Devine’s height has proven to be an advantage for the Terriers. The 6-foot, 3-inch Rhode Island native collected three blocks and eight rebounds in the team’s win over Northeastern, including three boards on the offensive end. Against the University of Delaware Sunday, she earned a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.
Though Jean can also haul down rebounds with her 6-foot, 1-inch frame, her strength lies in being an outside scoring threat for the Terriers. The sophomore from Canada ranked third in the America East in 3-point field goal percentage last season, shooting 40.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Burks-Wiley, a three-time conference Player of the Year at Lincoln College Prep Academy, and Ozimok, who averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as a high school senior, round out the Terriers’ wings.
“Jesyka is someone who does a lot of good things in practice, so she will get some good minutes,” Greenberg said.
With rookies taking six positions on the 14-person roster, Greenberg will be expecting a sizeable contribution from her freshmen. Still, she says it’s important for the team not to just throw the rookies into the deep end.
“We’ll get them more and more comfortable,” Greenberg said. “Sometimes the less you have to use them, the better, so they have time to grow and you don’t have to put so much pressure on them.”