Following a 61-49 loss to Dartmouth College on Wednesday night, the Boston University women’s basketball team will resume the hunt for its first road victory when they play Marist College on Saturday.
The Terriers (1-8) got off to a quick start in the first quarter against the Big Green (3-4), but slipped in the second and were never quite able to recover. On the bright side, junior center Sophie Beaudry continued her productive season with her first career double-double in the loss.
Sophomore forward Naiyah Thompson played an unusually high 30 minutes, possibly due to the absence of junior guard Corrine Williams. Thompson impressed, recording 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
BU head coach Katy Steding had high praise for Thompson after the game and was impressed with her ability to fill in for Williams.
“I thought even though she had a few turnovers she did a pretty good job getting on the boards, scoring, put-backs and other situations,” Steding said.
According to Steding, another positive takeaway from Wednesday’s contest was the success that came from putting pressure on the other team.
“Our full court pressure was pretty effective, and as we continue to move forward, our pressure is going to be a big part of what we have to do,” Steding said.
Both Thompson’s play and BU’s defensive pressure will be important in the upcoming game against Marist (2-7).
The Red Foxes have struggled early on this year, beginning their season on a six-game losing streak. Since they they snapped that streak on Thanksgiving, they have gone 1-1, including a 62-47 win over Manhattan College.
Despite Marist’s struggles, the Terriers can’t take the game lightly. The Red Foxes have defeated BU easily in the past, recording double-digit victories in the last three meetings.
Last year, the Terriers were dominated in a 73-54 loss by Marist senior Sydney Coffey (23 points on 8-of-13 shooting), sophomore guard Allie Clement (17 points) and senior center Tori Jarosz (13 points, 13 rebounds).
Though Coffey and Jarosz have since graduated, Clement is the second-highest scorer for the Red Foxes this season.
The leading scorer is freshman Rebekah Hand, who has won the Metro Athletic Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Week three straight times. Hand is averaging 15.2 points and a team-leading seven rebounds per game this year.
Steding is wary of Hand, but does not want to let her dominance detract attention from some of Marist’s other skilled players.
“I think one of the key things about Marist is that they’re dangerous at every spot,” Steding said. “It’s a situation where if you key on one player, the other ones are going to burn you. If you try to help too much, or really try to gain the system, they’re very smart at their read and react type offense, so we have to be smart as well.”
While the Terriers are wary of Marist, this will not deter them from focusing on their own style of basketball and playing to their strengths.
Despite the fact that the Red Foxes are not as strong as they’ve been in the past, Steding is still taking them seriously.
“I think what we always have to go into every game with is every opponent is both beatable and very much a threat,” Steding said. “We have to respect everybody that we play. I think Marist runs a terrific system. They’re great shooters, so you have to respect every person on the team, and every person on the floor at all times, or they’ll burn you.”
