It took the Boston University women’s basketball team 61 days to capture its first victory last season, when it trumped American University on Jan. 13.
Now five games into the 2016-17 campaign, head coach Katy Steding’s side is fresh off its first win and is eyeing its first winning streak since March 2014 when it hosts the University of New Hampshire Monday night at Case Gym.
The Terriers (1-4) go into the final game of their three-game homestand following a 66-56 victory over a winless University of Massachusetts Lowell side on Saturday.
Although the victory was a step in the right direction for BU, Steding is adamant that her team is still seeking improvement this early in the season.
“We are still developing our identity,” Steding said. “I don’t think we don’t know what it is anymore. I just think we’re trying to develop it. We need to get out and play a full-court game. That’s where we’re best and that’s where we have an advantage with our depth and our athleticism.”
BU’s triumph over the River Hawks (0-6) was able to play well-rounded, cohesive basketball for 40 minutes, especially given the performances of junior guard Corrine Williams and senior guard Courtney Latham, who combined for 36 points on Saturday.
However, a few holes were displayed that the visiting Wildcats (3-2) could potentially expose.
The Terriers were out-rebounded 41-25 against Lowell, which doesn’t bode well against a UNH side that is +9.8 in the rebounding margin this season.
The Wildcats also wield strong post players in juniors Carlie Pogue and Kat Fogarty. The duo is averaging 11.0 and 9.6 points per game, respectively, and they are the team’s two leading rebounders.
In addition to classmate guard Brittni Lai (team-leading 13.0 PPG), the junior trio accounts for about 57 percent of their team’s total points, which can exploit a Terriers defense that is -11 in the points margin.
Steding noted that her team needs to shut down UNH’s three leading scorers if it wants to notch another home win.
“The first thing is, we can’t let the Wildcats get the looks that they always get,” Steding said. “We’ve got to try and make sure [UNH] is not getting to their mainstay offensive players like [Fogerty and Pogue] to start the game and their little guard [Lai].”
Outside of the disparity in the rebound battle (UNH +13.6) and the turnover battle (UNH +3), the Terriers match up well against the Wildcats.
Both sides are about even in nearly every offensive category, but home-field advantage could be the determining factor in this contest.
At Case Gym, BU is nearly deadlocked in points with its foes (118-121) as opposed to on the road, where it has been outscored by 52 points in three games. The Wildcats come into Boston with similar road woes.
UNH is a perfect 3-0 when playing at Lundholm Gymnasium and even held New England College to a season-low 38 points on Nov. 14.
Outside of Durham, New Hampshire, though, the Wildcats are 0-2 and outscored 153-99, which can only be encouraging for the Terriers’ defense.
Steding stressed that it’s important for the team to play with a sense of urgency on Monday, but not to rush play.
“We’ve got to make sure that it’s not about coming out and necessarily scoring first or getting the first stop,” Steding said. “It’s us applying pressure and developing our identity as a team that can get out and press a little bit.”
