After falling in a double overtime thriller against the Colgate Raiders, the Boston University women’s basketball team will face another tough challenge on Saturday against Patriot League leader Bucknell University.
The Terriers (6-12, 4-3 Patriot League) have all but forgotten a start to the season in which the team dropped nine of ten games. Since a 64-60 victory over the University Massachusetts on Dec. 14, the Terriers have won five out of eight games, including two conference wins on the road at the College of the Holy Cross and Lehigh University.
BU is 4-4 at Case Gymnasium, and has won consecutive decisions on their home court.
Terriers head coach Katy Steding has noticed her team’s newfound confidence.
“I think once the girls got a taste of winning, it’s really helped them turn a corner,” Steding said. “I feel like when we are playing our best basketball, we can play with almost anybody around.”
Coming into the contest with an undefeated conference record, Bucknell (15-3, 7-0 Patriot League) looks to continue its dominance. After steamrolling Holy Cross (4-14, 2-5 Patriot League), Colgate University (6-12, 3-4 Patriot League) and Lehigh (5-13, 0-7 Patriot League) by a combined 71 points, the Bison narrowly escaped against Loyola University Maryland 72-66 on Wednesday and look to capture their 12th win in 13 games.
“The test for us with Bucknell is that they’re an experienced team, a strong team, a big team,” Steding said. “Kind of a lot of the assets that I feel we have, too. They have a lot of versatility in their lineup.”
The Terriers were picked to finish dead last in the preseason Patriot League poll, but have turned heads with their resurgence, and currently sit at 5th in the 10-team conference, thanks in part to new frontcourt mates.
In her first season with Boston University, junior center Sophie Beaudry, a transfer from Monmouth University, has dominated the Patriot League. An imposing 6-foot-5 presence, Beaudry not only is a tough matchup due to her sheer size, but also because of her advanced footwork and shot making ability.
Beaudry is tied for the team lead in scoring at 12.4 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounds and blocks.
After an early season leg injury, freshman forward Nia Irving has appeared in the Terriers’ last eight games, and her presence has already transformed the team. Forming a lethal front court tandem with Beaudry, the Fairfield, Maine native has seen an increasing role with each game.
“All of our posts really do such a great job of being big and strong and trying to get good shots close to the rim,” Steding said.
In the aforementioned loss to Colgate, Irving tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in the second start of her young career, a game in which she played a career-high 39 minutes.
The Bison feature a formidable frontcourt “Big Three” in Claire DeBoer, Kaitlyn Slagus and Sune Swart, all of whom stand over 6 feet.
DeBoer, a senior from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, is a two-time All-Patriot League performer, as well as the 2013-2014 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. The standout forward was tabbed as the Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year.
DeBoer leads the Bison with 15.4 points per game and shoots 40.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Slagus was last season’s Patriot League Rookie of the Year and continues to improve with averages of 13.4 points per game and a team-leading 9.8 rebounds per game.
Swart, a senior, is the third Bison player scoring in the double digits, chipping in 11.8 points per game while leading the Patriot League with a 50 percent field goal percentage.
Between the Terriers’ Beaudry, Irving and junior forward Kara Sheftic and Bucknell’s three leading scorers, the frontcourt matchup is one to watch in Saturday’s contest.
“Can we get the right scores at the right time and can we limit their big people from catching the ball in their favorite situations? That will be the challenge for us on Saturday,” Steding said. “Do we play a 40-minute game of doing the right things and all the time?”
