After earning its first win of the season versus American University Jan. 13, the Boston University women’s basketball team will look to add another victory when it travels Saturday to Bucknell University.
What propelled the Terriers (1-17, 1-6 Patriot League) to that season-opening victory over the Eagles (4-14, 2-5 Patriot League) was their ability to open and close the game by improving as it went along.
Against American, BU opened up on a 10-0 run, one of the rare instances in which it led after the opening quarter this season.
Since that needed morale-booster, the Terriers have been stuck in another losing streak, albeit a small one, at only two games. However, the numbers don’t lie, and against the league-leading Bison (13-5, 7-0 Patriot League), the Terriers will need to have another strong start if it wants to pull off an upset.
On her team’s ability to start games strong in 2016, BU head coach Katy Steding had a tough time pinpointing the exact cause, but acknowledged the growing presence of sophomore guard Corrine Williams has certainly helped.
Following her 16-point performance in the loss to Colgate University Wednesday night, Steding noticed the growth in the Bloomfield, Connecticut native’s play of late.
“I believe that Corrine William’s been a real spark for us” Steding said. “She’s really come along. I think some consistency with our lineup since we’ve been fully healthy has also helped, for sure.”
Steding also attributes her team’s recent improvement to its willingness to stay active and alert.
“I really chuck it up to these guys, though, for remaining focused and Corrine William’s contributions, as well as [sophomore forward] Kara [Sheftic’s] that give us a three-legged stool with [junior forward] Meghan Green in the lineup,” Steding said. “She’s earned her spot, and Corrine being able to be a chameleon and play whatever we need from a guard to a post, that’s been really helpful.”
The Terriers will also have their work cut out for them, as Bucknell averages nearly 13 more points per game (64.1) than BU’s 51.9 average.
Particular attention will need to be placed on the Bison duo of sophomore Jacquie Klotz (15.9 PPG) and junior Claire DeBoer (15.7 PPG). They’re also their team’s two leading rebounders (10 RPG and 8.2 RPG, respectively), so the Terriers will have to find a way to limit the pair on several fronts.
On limiting the pair’s strong presence, Steding envisions her team employing an ever-changing defensive scheme to keep the Terriers from settling into a comfort zone.
“We don’t want them to get comfortable in a certain look,” Steding said. “We’ll try different defenses in different scenarios. We have kids that can and should be able to stand them up and play good defense. They’re very talented, but they’re not invincible. We’re going to throw not the kitchen sink at them, but everything but.”
Steding knows that playing complete games of basketball are needed to earn wins, and despite her team’s impressive rebounding statistics Wednesday night against Colgate (4-13, 2-5 Patriot League), it is going to take more than filling up one statistical category for the Terriers to make the game competitive.
“We had 22 rebounds last night, but we need to make more shots,” Steding said. “We didn’t shoot real well last night. I hate to say that we need to do everything well, but we’re a young team. We don’t have uber-athletes that dominate the game. We have to work really well together, and we’ve been doing that the last several games and that’s improved our chances for success.”
