Last Sunday night, Boston University women’s basketball senior Kristi Dini could not have felt worse. The team’s hopes of a perfect America East season were smashed by the University of Vermont in a devastating 74-66 loss in the America East Championship game, and Dini had one of her worst games of the season, scoring just six points.
But last night, the Terriers (25-7, 16-0 America East) and Dini moved past the disappointment of not playing in the NCAA Tournament and handed Central Connecticut State University a 79-60 beating in the first round of the WNIT at Case Gymnasium.’
Dini led all scorers with 18 points to go along with three steals and was named Player of the Game. She tied a career high with six trifectas and shot 50 percent from 3-point territory. The all-time program leader in 3-point field goals didn’t attempt a shot from inside the arc all game.
‘Well, I came out missing ‘-‘- not shooting well at all,’ Dini, who missed her first three treys, said. ‘But shooters have to keep shooting the ball.
‘I still think [senior guard] Christine [Kinneary] is the best point guard in America East ‘-‘- the best point guard I’ve played with, and if you play her on a drive, I’m going to be open for 3. If you don’t, she’s going to take it to the basket. She did a really good job pushing and kicking. [Junior] Aly [Hinton] was hot too so they had to worry about her and [senior Amarachi Umez-Eronini] did a really good job running the floor and they just found me.’
Dini wasn’t discouraged by her 0-for-3 start and was determined to have a strong game in what was likely her last game at Case Gymnasium. She hit two 3-balls in the first half, both coming from well beyond the arc.
‘They were playing a zone, so even though I was missing in the first half, when the three is open I take it,’ Dini said. ‘I have to take it. So I just really kept shooting it until I started to feel it.’
‘They were playing a 3-2 [zone], so they were really worried about the top,’ Hinton said. ‘A lot of times, the forward won’t want to come out and play the corner. And just the way we were moving the ball and making our cuts, it ended up happening a lot where the forward would have to come play the corner. So them not wanting to come out left us opportunities to shoot and we were knocking them down.” ‘ ‘ ‘
Dini finished the first half hitting just 2-of-6 3-point attempts, and the Terriers went into the locker room trailing, 41-38.
‘I think we got over Vermont at halftime of tonight’s game,’ BU coach Kelly Greenberg said. ‘I felt like we were here, were the better team and we thought it would just happen instead of making it happen. I think it was a little bit of a wake-up call.’
In the second half, Dini caught fire. She hit four consecutive triples and tallied 12 of her 18 points in the second frame. Her first 3-pointer of the half brought the Terriers within two points of the Blue Devils, 45-43, just two minutes into the half.’
With seven minutes remaining, Dini helped put the game out of reach when she dished out an assist to junior forward Maggie McKemie, giving BU a 64-48 advantage.
‘The weekend was tough and there’s no question it’s hard to get through, but you have to get through it,’ Greenberg said. ‘It builds character and years from now, maybe every girl on our team will understand that.’
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