Since beginning conference play on Jan. 4 against the University of Vermont, the Boston University women’s basketball team has won six straight games, and, after a Thursday night victory against the University of New Hampshire, remain the only America East team undefeated in America East play.
The Terriers (13-6, 6-0 America East) refuse to get cocky and complacent with their strong place in the standings, recognizing that they still have ten more games left in the season.
“Myself and the coaching staff, we couldn’t be happier with where we are right now, but we certainly aren’t going to settle,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “You know, in our eyes this was just game number six, you know, and then tomorrow we start talking about game number seven.”
It’s this attitude that has served BU well over the past few weeks as the team focused on strengthening its defense and working hard in practice. While she recognizes the offensive contributions of players like junior guards Chantell Alford and Mo Moran, Greenberg is insistent that it is balanced play and strong defense that has served the Terriers well throughout America East action.
Despite this caution, it’s undeniable that the Terriers are on a hot streak as their 79-39 victory against UNH (10-8, 3-3, America East) demonstrated. And even as they remain humble, the team and coaching staff are aware that some things are working very well for BU at the moment.
“We don’t like to think about,” Alford said. “We know we’re undefeated, but we just want to take it one game at a time because we know the pressure behind it – being undefeated – so we just want to be humble about it and just go put into practice, playing well in practice so it can carry over into the games.”
As their last six games have demonstrated, the Terriers have been putting their hard work in practice to good affect on the court. Especially in regards to defense, which Greenberg singled out as the key factor in the team’s success in conference play.
In Thursday night’s game against UNH, BU forced 17 turnovers, turning them into 16 points as they shut down the Wildcats offense.
“We’re making the other team really work hard for just a good look on the offensive end and finishing the rebounds,” Greenberg said.
While earlier in the season Greenberg mentioned the team’s struggles with rebounds, during this seven-game winning streak the team’s rebounding has played a significant role in both their ability to shut down the other team and to put points on the board themselves.
Since conference play began, sophomore forward Rashidat Agboola and senior forward Caroline Stewart have consistently led the team in rebounds, often securing numbers in the double digits. When asked about driving forces behind the Terriers success, Greenberg singled out both Stewart and Agboola.
“Our forwards, [our] two starters, Caroline and Rashidat are just monsters, they’re really beasts on the boards,” Greenberg said. “Rashidat had a dozen [Thursday night] and that’s really, really helped us.”
These are the elements that BU will be focusing on as the Terriers move forward throughout the rest of the season. As they look forward, both Greenberg and the team recognize that their consistently strong defensive play over the last few games is what is going to guarantee future success. But they’re still not going to let it get to their heads.
“There’s still a lot of basketball left to be played before March,” Greenberg said. “Our goal is to stay focused. Every team offers something different which is a new challenge for us. So, we’ll keep it fresh.”
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