The Boston University women’s basketball team will continue its tough out-of-conference schedule when they travel to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens of the University of Delaware Sunday afternoon.
The Terriers (5-3) have already taken on the nationally ranked programs of the University of Connecticut and Arizona State University this season, and Delaware (7-1) will not be easier. The Blue Hens have won six games in a row since losing their only game of the season to Boston College, 68-60, on Nov. 14.
Last year, it was the Terriers handing Delaware its first loss of the season, when BU defeated the Blue Hens, 61-59, at Case Gym on Nov. 27. Delaware came into that game at 3-0. BU coach Kelly Greenberg said she hopes last year’s victory will help the Terriers pull off another upset.
“Last year I think the girls realized that it was a bigger win than they thought,” she said. “They were one of the first teams I scheduled when I got here. They’re one of those teams that is always around 30th-35th in the country. They’re a good mid-major.”
The Terriers will have their hands full with a Delaware team that is climbing up the rankings and has already upset then-No. 20 University of Kentucky handily, 86-70.
Part of the reason for Delaware’s success has been the play of senior guard Tyresa Smith and her classmate and forward Chrissy Fisher. Smith is averaging 18.1 points per game to go along with 7.4 rebounds. Her teammate, Fisher, has been just as impressive, averaging 16.5 points per game (with an astounding 12-for-20 mark from behind the arc this season) while pulling down 9.1 rebounds per game.
“We’ll have trouble with Smith,” Greenberg said. “Sometimes you go against someone who is really athletic. If you back off, she can stop and pop. We have to limit her touches 12 feet and in and not let her get the ball inside.”
Smith lit the Terriers up last time out, recording a game (and then-career) high 24 points to go along with game-highs in assists (five) and steals (five).
Fisher will also be tough to stop. She recorded 19 points against the Terriers last year to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds.
“She has a great feel for the game,” Greenberg said of Fisher. “She’s like Larry Bird.”
Defensively, the Terriers will need to adjust to be able to handle the prolific scoring of the Blue Hens.
“We need to be ready to make adjustments,” Greenberg said. “We have to be ready to mix things up, maybe even throw a junk defense at them. And we need to rebound.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Terriers cannot afford to turn the ball over the way they did against Brown University on Wednesday night if they hope to improve their record to 6-3. In that game, the Terriers totaled 22 turnovers.
“We need to take care of the basketball along with taking good shots,” Greenberg said.
Sunday’s game will mark the third straight that sophomore guard Kristi Dini has started for the Terriers. On Wednesday, she was second on the team in scoring with 13 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from three and was also second on the team in rebounding with eight. Dini is now averaging eight points per game – placing her fourth on the team.
So far, Greenberg has liked what she’s seen from her new starting lineup.
“Katie [Meinhardt] starting at point guard is stabilizing at the beginning of the game,” she said. “Then Christine [Kinneary] can come off the bench and give us some energy.”