The Boston University women’s basketball team has one point of comparison with Harvard University heading into tonight’s game scheduled at Case Gymnasium. The Terriers and the Crimson both faced Istrobanka Lokomotiva during the exhibition season. BU won by 12 points, Harvard won by 11 points. With just a one-point differential in the margin, both teams look to be evenly matched. According to BU Coach Margaret McKeon, the result will be a dogfight.
Harvard hopes to avenge a 93-77 home loss to BU one year ago. They come into the season as the favorite to win the Ivy League title and into tonight’s game following a 79-76 home court victory over Syracuse University.
BU will be looking to break out of a scoring slump. In the exhibition game against Istrobanka Lokomotiva the Terriers (0-1, 0-0 America East) shot just 34 percent from the field. They fared even worse on Saturday in their season opener against Vanderbilt University shooting just 29.5 percent.
If scoring has been the problem, playing Harvard might be the perfect medicine. The Crimson (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League) allowed Syracuse to shoot 53 percent from the floor in their home opener on Friday. In last year’s game at Harvard, the Terriers shot 57 percent from the floor, scoring a season-high 93 points.
Junior guard Katie Terhune will certainly be looking forward to getting some scoring help, after scoring a game-high of 20 points in Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt. No one else on the Terriers reached double digits in the loss. Junior forward Marisa Moseley scored nine points on a few backdoor layups and baseline drives. Larissa Parr also scored nine points, but neither was a consistent offensive threat.
Senior guard Alison Argentieri and sophomore Adrienne Norris will also both be expected to contribute more offense than they did against Vanderbilt. It was Argentieri who led the Terriers in scoring when Harvard and BU met last year, netting a career-high of 25 points.
Harvard is led by junior forward Hana Peljto, the returning Ivy League Player of the Year. She recorded a double-double in both games this season, gathering 30 points and 14 rebounds against Lokomotiva and 20 points and 15 rebounds against Syracuse.
The Terriers will likely look to counteract her 6′ 2′ presence with extra mobility. This could mean less minutes from 6′ 5′ junior center Amparo Lopez who had a promising game on Saturday, but saw reduced playing time in the second half due to a head injury and McKeon’s wish to go with a more experienced squad.
Tonight’s game is the second of a three-game stretch in which BU will face teams that all made post-season appearances last year. The first two teams, Vanderbilt and Harvard, made last year’s NCAA Tournament, while St. Joseph’s University earned a WNIT bid. BU will travel to Philadelphia at the end of Thanksgiving break to face St. Joseph’s at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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