The Boston University women’s basketball team’s 2009-10 season will continue for at least one more game as its hosts Providence College Thursday night in the Women’s NIT at Case Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Terriers (16-14) find themselves in the WNIT for the second straight season &- it’s just their third postseason berth in program history. The Friars (16-14) come to The Roof out of the Big East Conference with the exact same overall record as BU.
BU’s hopes of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 ended March 16 when it lost to the University of Vermont, 69-52, in the America East Tournament semifinals. Sophomore guard Alex Young and freshman guard Mo Moran led the Terriers with 14 and 12 points, respectively. As a team they shot just 26 percent from the field, while UVM shot almost 40 percent. AE Rookie of the Year Chantell Alford had just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting. The freshman guard finished second in the conference in scoring with 14.9 points per game.
The Terriers battled back in that game from a 32-26 halftime deficit to take a 35-34 lead five minutes into the second half. Vermont responded, however, with a 21-4 run that sealed the win. Senior guards and all-conference first team selections May Kotsopoulos and Courtnay Pilypaitis combined for 25 points. Pilypaitis also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
Vermont went on to beat Hartford in the championship game &- earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It marked the second consecutive AE tournament victory for the Catamounts, and the second consecutive year they had to beat an opponent who hadn’t lost in AE play &- they defeated BU last year in the final. The 10th-seeded UVM won a date with the seventh-seeded University of Wisconsin scheduled for March 21.
Hartford’s NCAA dreams didn’t die when they lost to Vermont, however, as they received an at-large bid to the Big Dance. The Hawks also earned a 10 seed and will play Louisiana State University on Saturday.
With Hartford and Vermont both punching tickets to the NCAAs, BU was left as the best remaining team to represent the AE with the conference’s automatic bid to the WNIT.
Last season, the Terriers overcame a devastating loss in the AE finals to Vermont to defeat Central Connecticut State University in the first round of the WNIT, 79-60. Just days later, BU lost to Boston College at Conte Forum, 68-53 &- ending its postseason run.
Providence hasn’t played BU since 1997, but comes into the game sharing several common opponents with the Terriers this season. It beat Hartford, St. Joseph’s University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst &- all teams BU lost to at least once. The Friars only loss to an AE team came on Dec. 21 when Vermont beat them 66-57 in Providence. BU played UVM three times this season and beat them once on Jan. 18.
If BU gets past the Friars, they will face the winner of Old Dominion University and American University.
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