After defeating Colgate University for its first road win of the season, the Boston University women’s basketball team will play host to Bucknell University Saturday afternoon at Case Gym.
The Terriers (3-22, 3-11 Patriot League), with a career high from sophomore guard Meghan Doogan (23 points and five 3-pointers) and double-digit rebounding performances from junior guard Courtney Latham and graduate student guard Troi Melton (11 rebounds apiece), dug themselves out of the bottom of the Patriot League standings.
BU head coach Katy Steding credited her team’s winning performance the second time around against the Raiders (4-20, 2-12 Patriot League) to a cohesive approach.
“I chalk it up to great unselfish play from the team,” Steding said. “We moved the ball extremely well. We were patient on offense, more patient than I’ve seen us all year in a lot of instances. We were pretty locked in on everything we were trying to do [defensively]. I also think we did a much better job of getting the ball in the right hands at the right time on offense, and our team defense really paid off last night.”
BU will now have to transition from competing against a Patriot League cellar-dweller to the Bison (19-6, 13-1 Patriot League), the conference’s top team.
With its lone blemish this conference slate coming back Jan. 30 against the United States Military Academy, Bucknell has won five consecutive games.
When these two sides last faced on Jan. 23, it was BU that came out with the hot hand, particularly from deep. The Terriers sunk their first four 3-pointers of the game, and held a 25-23 lead with 3:35 remaining in the second quarter.
The conference leaders then flexed their muscle, as they rattled off 13 unanswered points to go into halftime up 36-25. They also dominated the second half, ultimately emerging as 74-56 winners.
Bucknell came back into the game due to dominating performances from guard Jacquie Klotz (21 points and 13 rebounds) and forward Claire DeBoer (21 points and five rebounds). Steding said she knows they can take over a game when they’re needed most.
“DeBoer gets shots from inside and outside,” Steding said. “She likes to face up and take us off the bounce, so we have to put somebody athletic on her who can stay with her but is also big enough and strong enough to handle her around the block. Hopefully we have some answers for that.”
Steding heeded similar caution in regard to Klotz’s prowess.
“Klotz is just a very versatile player,” she said. “Great forward’s mentality, so she just goes. We have to change up our defensive looks frequently to not let them get comfortable on offense, but also keep our kids in the best possible situation with matchups and our competitive advantages.”
Despite being on opposite ends of the Patriot League standings, the Terriers have proven they can go long stretches of contests with the league’s best team. With that in mind, Steding said her team has a moderate level of confidence ahead of Saturday’s encounter.
“We need to capitalize on the momentum that we started [at Colgate]” Steding said. “… I think when our team is really focused and knows exactly what they want to accomplish and the goal is really present in their minds, they buy in and they attack it with a confidence that we haven’t always shown. We’ll have to come out with that same mentality when we play Bucknell.”
