One week removed from its first conference loss of the season, the Boston University women’s basketball team returns to Case Gymnasium tomorrow to host Stony Brook University.
The Terriers (8-7, 1-1 America East) fell to Binghamton University, 59-55, last Saturday in Vestal, N.Y., while the Seawolves defeated the University of Maine, 72-65, Wednesday night to pick up their first conference win.
Stony Brook (6-10, 1-2) is led by senior forward Dana Ferraro and senior guard Aly Young. Young leads the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game, while Ferraro ranks second (9.7) and tops the Seawolves in rebounding (9.3). In the win over Maine, Young netted a career-high 25 points, while Ferraro recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“We have to be aware that Ferraro gets most of her points off of offensive rebounds,” said BU coach Kelly Greenberg. “So, we have to make sure we take care of the boards and not allow her to have second chances.”
One advantage the Terriers have in this matchup is experience. After Young and Ferraro, Stony Brook’s next five scorers are all freshmen and sophomores. On the other hand, six of BU’s top seven scorers are juniors and seniors.
Stony Brook has struggled shooting the 3, connecting on 26.5 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. Greenberg, however, was quick to point out that the sub-par stat won’t mean much come game time.
“You can’t depend too much on stats because the second you think someone can’t shoot the 3, they’ll hit a lot against you,” Greenberg said. “We’re just going to really try to bother their guards because our guards are one of our biggest strengths. That’s something we didn’t really do against Binghamton.”
BU’s guards have certainly been impressive this year. Junior point guard Christine Kinneary ranks fifth in the nation and first in America East in assists per game (7.1). Her 106 assists this season are 24 more than second-place Courtnay Pilypaitis (University of Vermont).
Junior Amarachi Umez-Eronini leads the Terriers in total steals (24) and ranks third in rebounding (4.9), while senior Cheri Raffo is third in scoring with 9.3 points per game.
The biggest weakness for BU in this game will be injuries up front. Senior forward Kasey Devine, who ranks second on the team with 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, missed the Binghamton loss with knee and back injuries she has been battled all year. Devine practiced Thursday and is expected to play tomorrow, but only for limited minutes.
Normally, Devine’s absence would spell more playing time for sophomore Aly Hinton (9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game), but she is out with a strained abdominal muscle. That means sophomore Kristen Folk, who is averaging just 4.9 minutes per game, will see significant time.
The injuries undoubtedly place more pressure on junior Jesyka Burks-Wiley (team-best 14.5 ppg and 7.2 rpg), who has shown the ability to rise to the occasion.