The Boston University women’s basketball team will try and bounce back from its worst loss of the season when Loyola University Maryland comes to Case Gym Saturday afternoon.
Nothing went right for the Terriers (2-21, 2-10 Patriot League) Wednesday night when they faced off against American University. They fell 79-33, made 24.4 percent of their shots and turned the ball over 21 times.
Despite the blowout, freshman forward Naiyah Thompson had a career night. She finished with nine points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist. Junior guard Courtney Latham finished right behind Thompson with eight points and an assist.
While BU sits in tenth place in the Patriot League, head coach Katy Steding said she was pleased with the way Thompson and Latham played, especially ahead of Saturday’s encounter with the Greyhounds (9-14, 6-6 Patriot League).
“Naiyah has some real spark in her game,” Steding said. “When she’s putting it on the floor and trying to be aggressive, taking her time with things and not rushing through things, being smart about her shots, she looks really good.”
With respect to Latham, Steding said it’s a balance of personal ambition and team goals.
“Courtney is the most tireless worker I may have ever coached,” Steding said. “The kid is an Energizer bunny. For her to be able to have a great game on a night like last night, it’s kind of a hollow reward because she’s such a good team player. But at the same time, I’m happy to see her have some personal success.”
Thompson and Latham were the only ones to score more than five points against the Eagles. Similarly, BU’s 33 points against American was not only the lowest opponent score in the Patriot League all season, but also their lowest total since November 2013, when the Terriers scored 38 versus the University of Connecticut.
“We didn’t do what we needed to do defensively, and that was a big part of it,” Steding said. “American hit nearly 60 percent of their shots. Combine that with turnovers and offensive rebounding, and that’s a tough game to win.”
When the Greyhounds visit Saturday, BU will meet a team that’s higher up in the standings and has struggled lately. Loyola is riding a three-game losing streak, but should still put up a good fight against the Terriers.
They’ve lost those three games by no more than eight points, and their leader, senior Colleen Marshall, has been on fire lately. In addition to averaging 15 points per game, which is good for fourth best in the league, Marshall has assisted 53 buckets and recorded 52 steals.
When the Terriers and Greyhounds last met, the latter emerged with a narrow 63-54 victory. On that day, Marshall dropped 19 points, showing how important her impact is.
Steding admitted the Terriers will need to cover Marshall staunchly, but also mentioned guard Bri Betz-White as a potential threat.
“We’ve got to put one of our quicker kids on her, because she’s kind of shifty,” Steding said. “She finds openings and if you don’t get to her quickly, she’s pretty deadly. And then they’ve got Betz-White who’s a good flasher, penetrator, so they’re made for that one-two punch.”
