The Boston University women’s basketball team will hope to turn a corner against Bucknell University on Saturday after losing for the 11th time in 12 games against American University on Wednesday.
The Terriers (4-14, 1-6 Patriot League) could not find their rhythm against the Eagles (12-6, 7-0 Patriot League) as they shot a season worst 25.9 percent from the floor and 25 percent from 3-point range.
Despite the poor shooting effort, redshirt junior forward Troi Melton contributed a career-high 11 points, and sophomore forward Meaghan Green had a team-high eight rebounds.
BU coach Katy Steding said she is convinced the team has moved past the loss.
“We’ve put people in a position today to really attack the rim, work on moving the all a little bit faster and being more confident in taking the shots that we’re looking at,” Steding said.
The Terriers have continued to struggle away from home as they scored a season-worst 45 points total against the Eagles and couldn’t snap their nine-game road losing streak.
“It’s always tougher to win on the road than it is to win at home. We’ve been fortunate to come up with the positives at home a number of times,” Steding said. “We just haven’t found that magic rhythm on the road. It’s really not magic. It’s sticking to it. We’re not that deep and not that strong, and we just haven’t gotten enough of a cushion or been in a position to dictate the action.
“This team never stops battling. We came into practice today, we could’ve hung our heads. We’ve been outrebounded and outplayed in transition. We could’ve chucked in the towel, but these guys were very positive and energetic with each other.”
The Terriers will have to contend with a Bison (12-6, 4-3 Patriot League) team that has been outrebounding its opponents by a margin of 9.8 rebounds per game. Senior Audrey Dotson and junior Claire Maree O’Bryan lead the Bison as both scored 13 points against University of Loyola Maryland Wednesday. Dotson is the team’s leading scorer with an average of 12.9 points per game.
Steding said in preparing for the physical contest, she focused on rebounding and defense.
“Rebounding and defense to me, there’s technique involved for sure. It’s about the hard work that you do before the action happens, sprinting and getting yourself into the paint and battling for boards,” Steding said.
Steding also said building and creating space on the floor is a long process.
“We haven’t been great about boxing out, and we have to work on that. We’re still putting together those building blocks. They’re an important part of the future,” she said.
The Terriers will be catching a team that has been heating up offensively, as the Bison scored more than 60 points for the first time in their past four games Wednesday. They had been averaging just 47 points per game since a 77-71 win over Lafayette University on Jan. 7.
Despite facing an offense that has found its rhythm, Steding was focused on the accountability of the team and said they need to stay together and concentrate on the easy shots.
“This team needs to continue to hold each other accountable,” Steding said. “It’s hard to hold each other accountable for shots except when they’re easy layups or driving right at the rim. That’s when we really have to buckle down and really concentrate more. It’s on the captains to set the standards and to hold themselves accountable first. Toughness defensively affects your offensive output too. I think our team is still learning that to a large degree.”
Doug covers women's soccer and other sports for the Daily Free Press. When he's not doing schoolwork, writing, or being a social butterfly on campus, he enjoys playing the piano, or hitting the course for a round of golf.
