Freshman guard Chantell Alford, senior forward Aly Hinton and Coach Kelly Greenberg sat at the postgame press conference with looks of disbelief on their faces after the Boston University women’s basketball team’s 64-58 loss to Providence College in the first round of the WNIT.
But after taking time to reflect on their 2009-10 season and second straight appearance in the WNIT, they began speaking positively about the future of the team and the development of Alford and fellow standout freshman Mo Moran.
“From day one I was pretty demanding,” Greenberg said. “I really expect people to go hard and get better. And from day one, the freshmen obviously were a big part of that. They helped us get it going.
“I’m greedy. Think we’re good &- we can be better. I always think that. I know a couple of weeks from now when I look back, we did have a really great season.”
BU started three forwards &- Hinton, junior Kerry Cashman and sophomore Caroline Stewart &- to replace injured guard sophomore Alex Young. Young sprained her ankle in practice the day before last night’s game.
“It was very disappointing that we wouldn’t have her for this postseason game,” Greenberg said. “But I have to tell you, once the ball was tossed, that’s not something we’re thinking about anymore. We have a lot of good players on our team.
“I thought our players played really hard tonight and had a really good effort.”
Providence came into the game featuring two senior forwards &- Emily Cournoyer and Jessica Clark, who stand at 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, respectively. The Terriers’ tallest player is Cashman at 6-foot-2, and Stewart and Hinton barely break six feet.
“That was one thing the coaches talked to us about for the last two days &- three days, since we knew we were going to play [Providence,]” Hinton said. “It was just something we really worked on &- getting bodies into people.”
The Friars outrebounded BU, 40 to 37, but the Terriers beat them in offensive rebounds with 13 to their 12.
“We knew we could crash [the boards] offensively and defensively,” Hinton said.
In her last game donning Scarlet and White, Hinton racked up nine points and a season-high 13 rebounds. The senior forward surpassed 700 career rebounds early in the first half &- making her just one of four Terriers all-time with over 1,000 career points and 700 rebounds.
“I had an amazing four years,” Hinton said. “I got to play with some really, really talented people. I got to play for some of the best coaches in the country. It’s just one of those things where I’m going to miss it. I don’t know where I’m going to be next year, but I’ll never have an experience like this one.”
Hinton drilled a 3-pointer from her signature spot at the top of the key with 5:21 remaining in the game to give BU their last lead of the game &- 55-54.
BU found themselves down 58-56 with just under a minute to play in the game. Greenberg called a timeout to draw up a play with 56 seconds on the clock. BU inbounded the ball and finally found Alford who took a highly contested shot from the wing and back-rimmed it.
“I thought it was a good shot, in all honesty,” Greenberg said. “I can’t wait to watch the tape because I really thought she got hit on the elbow.
“We were looking for Chantell to get the shot and I thought it was a good shot.”
Senior guard Chelsea Marandola iced the game with four consecutive free throws in the closing seconds to secure the win for the Friars.
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