‘Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding.’
Boston University women’s basketball coach Kelly Greenberg’s maxim rings in her players’ ears day and night. Greenberg sermonizes tough play on the glass so often, Rev. Al Sharpton thinks she preaches too much.
In the first half of last night’s 80-61 victory over Harvard University at Case Gymnasium, the Terriers played as if Greenberg had beaten the words into their heads with a two-by-four.
BU’s forwards outworked the Crimson’s bigger post players to the tune of a 22-18 first-half rebounding advantage, helping BU take a 44-25 lead into the break.
Heading into last night, BU’s interior play had been less than satisfactory, trailing opponents by an average of five boards per game, while Harvard came across the Charles River averaging seven rebounds per game more than its opponents.
The Crimson’s play in the paint had been bolstered by a pair of 6-foot-3 forwards ‘-‘- BU’s tallest player is listed as 6-foot-2 ‘-‘- in senior Katie Rollins and sophomore Emma Markley, who combined to average 14.9 rebounds and 27.0 points per game.
BU held the tandem to a meager four rebounds and eight points in the first 20 minutes of last night’s contest.
Junior Aly Hinton led the way for BU with seven rebounds, while 5-foot-10 senior Kristi Dini pulled down five boards.
BU’s effort on the boards, combined with a solid defensive effort, resulted in a 26-12 first-half scoring advantage in the paint.
Dini said the key to the Terriers’ first-half dominance was the ability of BU’s guards to block off the passing lanes to Harvard’s interior players.
‘We knew going into the game that [Harvard’s] posts were a lot taller than us,’ Dini said of Rollins and Markley. ‘We talked a lot before the game about how a lot of the post defense was going to start with the guards and denying the wings. Our main goal before the game was to not let the guards [on the wings] get the ball from the point guard, so then they can’t get the ball inside.’
On the occasions that the Crimson guards did manage to get the rock into the hands of their forwards, the BU defense did a fantastic job collapsing into a double team on the ball carrier. Multiple times in the first half, Rollins and Markley received passes from the wing only to find themselves immediately doubled, forcing them to settle for off-balance post shots with multiple hands in their face.
‘We definitely ran what we call our ‘wall’ defense in the first half,’ Greenberg said when asked about the collapsing defensive strategy. ‘In the first half we were really focused on, ‘If I’m the weak side guard, I’m gonna be on the wall.”
Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith made a few crucial halftime adjustments, and the Crimson did finally get their interior play rolling ‘-‘- out-rebounding the Terriers, 26-12, in the second half, including an 8-0 advantage through the frame’s first 6:30.
‘I think we came out a little stagnant,’ Hinton said of BU’s play coming out of the break. ‘They were really concentrating on getting it inside, and I feel like we were caught sleeping a couple times ‘-‘- I know I was. But after their run, I think we bounced back really well from it.’
Harvard outscored BU in the paint, 20-12, in the second stanza, but the comeback attempt proved to be a lost cause, mostly thanks to the poise of BU’s upperclassmen.
‘We got past [Harvard’s second-half run] and we were fine,’ Greenberg said. ‘It was really nice to see that our team really showed a lot of character.’
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