For the first time in 2009, the Boston University women’s basketball team will enter a game as the clear underdog when it travels to Conte Forum to face Boston College in the second round of the Women’s NIT.
The Terriers (25-7) are coming off a 79-60 first-round victory over Central Connecticut State University on Thursday night. The Eagles (20-11) received a first-round bye after losing to Florida State University, 83-71, in the ACC Quarterfinals and just missing out on an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
Although the records may not indicate that BC is the clear favorite, everything else does. The Eagles are clearly more tested than the Terriers, evidenced by their No. 44 ranking in Ratings Percentage Index and No. 34 spot in strength of schedule, compared to BU’s No. 83 and 232 rankings in the same categories.
Experience in big games will certainly give the Eagles a bit of a boost, but what really gives them the advantage tonight is their height.
BC features five players that stand 6-foot-2 or taller. BU, on the other hand, has just one ‘-‘- sophomore forward Kerry Cashman, who measures in at 6-foot-2.
Making this height advantage even more significant is the fact that the Eagles’ two best post players, sophomores Carolyn Swords and Stefanie Murphy, are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-4, respectively, making them by far the tallest one-two punch the Terriers have matched up against all season.
Swords averaged 15.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season, placing her seventh and second, respectively, in the ACC. Murphy added averages of 10.7 points and 6.3 boards. As a team, the Eagles finished the year with the best rebounding margin in the conference, out-boarding their opponents by a plus-7.3 rebounds per game difference.
‘We’re very much aware of their size, and they’re very good ‘-‘- the two of them,’ BU coach Kelly Greenberg said. ‘[Swords], as far as shooting percentage, is a beast. She shoots like 70 percent. We’re very familiar with them.
‘We know there’s nothing we can do. We’re not big, and they are. We just hope that [Kristi] Dini and Amarachi [Umez-Eronini] can shade them a little bit. They’re our taller guards. They just need to always be thinking, ‘If I’m not playing the ball, I need to be helping my forwards inside.’ We need to help much more than we have all year.’
A great inside game isn’t all BC has to offer, though. Junior guard Mickel Picco was one of the ACC’s most dangerous perimeter threats all season. She ranked sixth in the conference in scoring (15.6 ppg), second in 3-point field goals (78) and fifth in 3-point percentage (.373) among players who attempted at least 100 treys.
‘We’re just really going to play her,’ Greenberg said. ‘We’re not going to give her much room. We’ll look to keep her from getting easy catches as much as possible. We have a couple things in mind. We’re going into the game with a couple different strategies, and we’ll see which one works and stick with it. We’re not going in saying, ‘This is all we’re going to do,’ and then get burned by it. We’re going to make in-game adjustments according to how things work for us.
‘Hopefully, we’ll get a feel for what’s working and go with it a little bit . . . And then on the flip side, we have to be able to score because we’re not going to be able to score a whole lot inside.’
Greenberg said that she and her staff added a few wrinkles to the offense last week and over the weekend to combat BC’s height inside. One of these changes will be trying to drag the Eagle forwards to the perimeter to open up the lane for senior guards Christine Kinneary and Umez-Eronini to drive to the basket.
To make this strategy work, the Terriers will need forwards Jesyka Burks-Wiley and Aly Hinton to knock down outside shots and force Swords and Murphy to come out and guard them. Burks-Wiley, who has vastly improved her mid-range game this season, and Hinton, who shot 34.6 percent from 3-land this season, are certainly capable of doing this.
As for that underdog role’hellip;
‘I really haven’t gotten to think about that,’ Greenberg said. ‘I know personally, I have always enjoyed being the underdog . . . I think you kind of just hook up to that role. Again, we haven’t talked about it much, but I think it’s a great opportunity that one ‘- we’re still playing, and two ‘- we get the opportunity to play BC, which we haven’t had the last few years even, though we wanted it. I just think everyone’s excited and eager to play them.’
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