Before the season began, coach Kelly Greenberg said that the Boston University women’s basketball team would benefit greatly from its talented freshman class. On Saturday, the Terrier rookies backed her up, combining for 26 points in BU’s 72-45 win over Long Island University.
Jesyka Burks-Wiley, a rookie forward, made up for the absence of Erica Kovach by scoring 12 points in 18 minutes off the bench. She topped off her career-best performance with three rebounds, an assist and a block.
“I think as a team we played great. We played together, I’m happy about that,” Burks-Wiley said after the game. “My performance, I’m happy with it. Naturally, you have to strive to want to be better. I’m just glad I was able to help.”
“Jess plays like that every single day,” Greenberg said. “She brings us a lot of energy, she’s very strong on the rebounds and she can score. She can score inside. She can hit the three. She can do a lot of things for us.”
Equally comfortable behind the arc and in the paint, Burks-Wiley went 5-for-7 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc to help the Terriers win their fourth straight game.
Her success came as no surprise to the coaching staff, who expected Burks-Wiley to be a significant contributor this season. A three-time conference Player of the Year at Lincoln Park Academy in Kansas City, Mo., Burks-Wiley averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals per game as a senior. Still, the 6-foot, 1-inch wing has had to make adjustments to play at the collegiate level.
“The biggest adjustment has been the tempo,” she said. “It’s a very fast-paced game in college and just being able to keep up with the team has been the biggest adjustment.”
Her adjustments have proven successful thus far. After recording two fouls and two turnovers in just nine minutes in the season opener, the rookie recovered, scoring five points and six rebounds against Northeastern University in the next game.
The personal fouls – she had four against Long Island – come frequently for a player who says her aggression is one of her strengths. Using her size to get her team important rebounds and loose balls, the benefits of Burks-Wiley’s aggression have outweighed any negatives so far.
Just five games into the 2005-06 campaign, Burks-Wiley is uncertain what the rest of the season will bring for her and her team. She has made just one simple goal for herself this season – to contribute.
“Just to be able to contribute, whether it be rebounding or just being on the bench and being vocal,” she said. “I just want to contribute and have the coach say, ‘I’m glad she’s here.'”
Burks-Wiley is one of the six freshmen on the team. Christine Kinneary, who has averaged 6.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, is another. Though both have proven they can be successful at the collegiate level, Greenberg thinks it’s important that all of her freshmen develop at the proper pace.
“I think one of the strengths of our freshman class is going to be that they don’t have to help us right away, so every day at practice they can get better,” Greenberg said. “We don’t have to lean on them in a game so much because we do have other people. They’re learning and they’re getting better. We compete at practice, so they’re playing against our starters. They’re only going to get better and I thought they did a great job.”