The growing pains started early for the Boston University women’s basketball team this season, suffering back-to-back losses in their debut this weekend at the hands of the University of Kentucky, 92-58, and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in overtime, 79-73.
BU (0-2) struggled against Kentucky (2-0) in the first NCAA women’s basketball game of the 2009-10 season on Friday. The Wildcats controlled the game from start to finish, outscoring the Terriers by at least 13 points in each half.
BU did leave Lexington, Ky. with some positive signs. Freshman guards Kristen Sims and Caitlynn Moran put up 17 and 10 points, respectively, in their NCAA debuts. Sims, sophomore forward Caroline Stewart and freshman guard Chantell Alford contributed to a 41-point performance from the Terriers’ bench.
‘We are encouraged by the freshmen,’ BU coach Kelly Greenberg said. ‘They’re playing somewhat fearlessly for freshmen and they play hard.’
Still, the Terriers showed their youth and inexperience this weekend, turning the ball over more than 20 times in both contests. Greenberg knows that number needs to shrink if BU is going to contend in the America East this season.
‘We just really need to take care of the ball more,’ Greenberg said. ‘If we balance out being fearless and taking care of the ball, I think that we’ll really turn the corner.’
Kentucky’s starting five overpowered the Terriers ‘-‘- four out of the five scored in double figures. Junior forward Victoria Dunlap posted a game-high 24 points. The powerhouse from the Southeastern Conference shot just under 50 percent from the field in the second half to put the Terriers to bed.
The Terriers’ second game of the weekend was more evenly matched, with UMass (1-0) handing BU an overtime loss Sunday afternoon.
A freshman led the Terriers in scoring once again as Moran tallied 20 points. Senior co-captain Aly Hinton recorded her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Alford and junior forward Kerry Cashman each made their first starts of the season.
‘We went into the weekend knowing that we would probably have a different lineup for both games,’ Greenberg said. ‘We’re trying to figure out who jumpstarts us best, what five jumpstarts us best, and ‘-‘- maybe more importantly ‘-‘- who is the best spark off the bench, who can come in and make a difference offensively or defensively off the bench.
‘We believe in the sixth man. You can call it a little bit of experimenting.’
The BU bench outscored the opposing bench for the second straight game, putting up 25 points to the Minutewomen’s six. Sophomore sharp-shooter Alex Young led all BU bench-players with 14 points and logged 26 minutes.
‘I do think we could be deeper [than last year’s team],’ Greenberg said. ‘And in all honesty I think we could have used the bench a little bit more in [the UMass game]. I think we could go deep subbing. We want people to play as hard as they can. [We can] give people more rest here or there.’
The Terriers took a 38-30 lead into halftime. They tried to take advantage of the UMass zone defense by launching 20 three-pointers, connecting on seven. UMass switched to man-to-man coverage after the break and held the Terriers to only three deep balls in the second half.
The game went into overtime after UMass sophomore Kristina Danella was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left and hit all three free throws. The Minutewomen then jumped out to a four-point lead two minutes into overtime and the Terriers couldn’t recover.
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