Tasting revenge

All season long, the Boston University women’s basketball team has had one word on its mind: revenge.

The Terriers suffered a gut-wrenching 61-45 defeat at the hands of the hated University of Hartford in last season’s America East championship game and have taken out their anger by going undefeated in conference play this season.’ ‘

The senior class is now the winningest class in program history and will have the number one seed for the first time in its career when they play in the America East Tournament in Hartford.’

The Terriers’ 71-57 victory over the University of Maine on Sunday stretched their program-best winning streak to 15 games and earned them at least a share of the America East regular-season title.

‘To see your hard work, one piece at a time, come together, really feels good,’ senior co-captain Jesyka Burks-Wiley said. ‘[Winning the regular-season conference title] is something we’ll carry for the rest of our lives, and it’s a moment we’ll never forget.” ‘

The Terriers have known all along that they were capable of running the table, but with two games remaining, their goal is well within their reach.’

‘Each game, we’re just one step closer to our ultimate goal,’ senior guard Amarachi Umez-Eronini said. ‘We’re not taking any game for granted, knowing that each game is going to be equally hard to play as we get closer and closer to the America East [Tournament]. So it’s a great opportunity. I know for us seniors, it’s something we look forward to. We worked so hard to get here.” ‘

The Terriers will likely play either Maine or the University at Albany in the first round of the conference tournament. BU just completed a season-sweep of Maine yesterday, and will look to do the same to Albany next Saturday in its last regular-season game of the year.

‘I think it’s good that we’re playing [Maine and Albany],’ BU coach Kelly Greenberg said. ‘Just to get it in their heads that we just beat them. Whenever we step back and look at who’s our possible first-round matchup or quarterfinals matchup, I think it is to our advantage that we will be seeing them right before the tournament.” ‘

Only games against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and Albany stand between the Terriers and a perfect regular-season conference record.

BU crushed UMBC, 84-57, and Albany, 78-48, in games earlier in the year. The 30-point thumping at Albany marks the Terriers’ largest margin of victory all year.

‘I think the next two games are games we should win,’ senior guard Krisi Dini said. ‘To not let those types of games slip away is important. But, I don’t think we feel pressure [to go undefeated].’

‘We’re still awake. We’re not sleeping on anyone,’ Umez-Eronini said. ‘Every game we’re just going to keep bringing it at them, one at a time, until we get that record.’

Greenberg uses the undefeated season as a motivational factor for her team, rather than avoiding the subject due to superstition.

‘I’m superstitious about a lot of things, but not really that,’ Greenberg said. ‘Our game on Tuesday night [against Hartford] really got a monkey off our back, so to speak. And I think the players have been pretty loose.

‘We generally take every game one at a time. As far as pressure, it would be great to go undefeated. There’s no question. We’re not going to lie. Is there pressure? No. I think getting that number one seed, wearing our white uniforms throughout the tournament, having the same bench throughout the tournament, I think all of those things add up and the girls deserve that.’