After a second-place finish in the Patriot League last year, the Boston University women’s basketball team heads into the 2024-25 season with a young, revamped roster focused on building conference success.
The Terriers finished last season with a 20-12 season record and a 10-8 record against conference opponents. Led by star senior forward Caitlin Weimar, the team fell to College of the Holy Cross for a second straight year in the Patriot League final. With a roster predominantly consisting of underclassmen, the Terriers are a young team full of potential this coming season.
“We have probably the most depth we may have had since I’ve been here,” head coach Melissa Graves said.
While the roster has no shortage of talent, the team lacks experience at the collegiate level.
Many returning athletes will fill larger roles than they did last year, and young players are expected to step up. With the absence of Weimar, who averaged 18.7 points and 10.6 rebounds last season, Graves looks to improve game by game this upcoming season.
“With a young group, it’s really going to be about discipline, attention to detail,” Graves said. “We really have to continue to just work and get better at this stuff.”
Returning talent for the team includes senior guard Alex Giannaros, who was selected for the 2024-25 Preseason All-Patriot League Team in October. Giannaros was also named a team captain for the second straight year.
“For me, my main job is bridging the gap for these new freshmen and showing them what college basketball is all about, because the pace is a lot different than high school,” Giannaros said.
Graves said she expects freshman forward Allison Schwertner to play a large role on the team and serve as a main component of the team’s frontcourt depth.
“[I’m] trying to take each new day as it comes and just really trying to focus on the little things and the things I can control, like defense, effort and intensity,” Schwertner said.
Graves has extreme faith in her young group of forwards, who have their work cut out for themselves following the graduation of Weimar, who was one of the greatest players in the program’s history.
“Our post group is very, very young,” said Graves. “I don’t expect Allison, who’s playing really well for us, to do everything. I think she’ll have a big piece of that, but I think it’s going to be a collective effort from our fours and our fives.”
Sophomore forward Sisi Bentley, who was sidelined last year due to injury, and freshman forward Inez Gallegos will provide valuable defensive versatility for the Terriers. With Weimar dominating most of the forward minutes last year, Graves notes the team’s forward rotation as a major strength.
“[Inez and Sisi] really create some mismatches with their speed, because they have guard skill at the four,” Graves said. “We can switch one through four now, and we’re more versatile in the way we defend, which is really exciting.”
A clear strength for the Terriers over the past several seasons has been their ability to shoot the deep ball. Giannaros has shot the 3 at 44% for her college career and has been essential to the success of the team during the past two seasons.
Helped by the attention that Weimar attracted from opposing defenses, the Terriers led the Patriot League in 3-point percentage last year. While 3-point shooting has been a strength each year under Graves, the team’s focus is always getting the best shot available.
“Our MO as a team has always been to play inside out, to get inside touches in order to get open threes,” Graves said. “And that’s why our percentage has been really high.”
The Terriers were ranked No. 5 in the Patriot League preseason poll this October, behind Holy Cross and just ahead of Colgate University. The Terriers split the regular season series with Holy Cross last season, with each team winning their home game.
Graves said a focus for the Terriers this season is to ensure success outside of the Patriot League and pick up tough non-conference wins.
“My biggest goal as a coach is, again, to grow in this non-conference, take this one game at a time and continue to get better,” Graves said.
The Terriers play No. 2-ranked University of Connecticut away on Nov. 7 in their season opener. The Huskies will be a tough early test for the unranked Terriers, but will be an opportunity for the young roster to improve and experience their first regular season game together.
“There’s an expectation with this program, and it’s grown to be that we want to compete for championships, and it’s not going to change based on who graduates,” Graves said.
Correction: A previous version of the article stated that the Terriers were ranked No. 2 in the Patriot League preseason poll this October, but they were ranked No. 2 last October, 2023-24. This season, 2024-25, they were ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll.
