With only one loss in its last six games, the Boston University women’s basketball team enters this Saturday’s matchup with the University of New Hampshire with some serious momentum.
The Terriers (13-8, 6-4 America East) won four in a row before falling last week to preseason conference favorite, the University of Vermont. Because of a quirk in scheduling, BU, which has yet to play New Hampshire, will face the Wildcats twice in the last six games of the year.
The Wildcats (11-10, 5-5) sit exactly one game behind the Terriers in the America East standings, in fifth place, while BU, in fourth place, is close enough to smell the top spot. With some help on Saturday from the University of Maine (versus the State University of New York at Stony Brook), the University of Hartford (versus SUNY-Binghamton) and SUNY-Albany (versus Vermont), the Terriers could wake up Sunday in second place.
While the Terriers have had one extra day to prepare, playing Tuesday night, before UNH lost by three at Vermont on Wednesday, BU coach Margaret McKeon has appreciated every day to prepare for a much different and unfamiliar opponent.
“They’re an inside team. They have height,” McKeon said. “We’re going to have to double team their post play, limit them to one shot, and try to pressure their guards, ’cause their guards really don’t like pressure.”
What McKeon is saying is, “They’re big, very big.”
UNH has three players listed at 6-foot 3-inches or more, including starting center, sophomore Maren Matthias. Matthias averages 11 points per game to go along with nearly seven rebounds. While Maine stayed in Tuesday’s game at the Roof with its three-point shooting, UNH will probably not be doing much of that.
McKeon said even though her team may not have the size to match up, the Terrier’s athleticism will have to win out.
“If we can attack off the dribble, even though we’ll have a tough time with their height,” McKeon said. “they’ll have a tough time with Larissa [Parr], Adrienne [Norris] and [Marisa] Moseley with our athletic ability and quickness. We can play in and out, which is gonna be difficult for them.”
While Norris actually averages more rebounds per game than Matthias, she is very good at facing the basket and putting the ball on the floor, something that will be tough for the taller Wildcat defenders to deal with.
The Terriers are only one win away from their first winning season in the three-year tenure of McKeon and are looking to earn themselves a high seed in next month’s America East Tournament. A win Saturday would be a good starting point for the rest of the year, as BU prepares for some must-win games against teams in the lower half of the league.
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