The Boston University women’s basketball team will head to Chestnut Hill Thursday to take on crosstown rival Boston College. Both squads will be looking to record their second consecutive victory of the season.
While the rivalry between the schools has been well documented across multiple sports, BU coach Katy Steding said it would be her first foray into the “Green Line Rivalry.”
“I’m fresh to it, so I imagine it’s like any rivalry, and it feels good when you get up on your opponent,” she said. “It provides a little extra spark before the game, and I know the girls are probably looking forward to it just like BC’s girls are probably looking forward to it.
“Versus Northeastern, it was new coach versus new coach. Now we’ve played two games, and they’ve played two games. They’ve won one, we’ve won one, and we both had our successes, and we both had our non-successes. It’s a good matchup for both of us, and it’s going to be chock full of fun action.”
The Terriers (1-1) are coming off an impressive 63-62 win against Harvard University Monday at Case Gym. Sophomore forward Meghan Green played a huge role for the Terriers, as she recorded a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds. The Bedford, New Hampshire native has played well to start the season, as she is BU’s leading scorer at 15 points per game, while also pacing the team in rebounds per game (7.5) and tied for the lead in assists per game (3.0).
The Terriers started off the game slowly, as they allowed the Crimson (1-1) to get off to a 14-0 lead in the first six minutes of play. BU eventually began to make its mark on the scoreboard, but Harvard still entered halftime with a 35-23 lead.
With 11:20 left in the game, the Terriers trailed Harvard 47-37. However, BU produced an 18-4 run in under seven minutes to take a 55-51 lead. The Terriers maintained the lead for the rest of the game and held on for the 63-62 victory as Harvard missed a layup at the buzzer. The win was Steding’s first as head coach of the Terriers.
BC (1-1) is also coming off a hard-fought win against St. Mary’s College, 82-72, on the road Sunday. The Eagles were down by as much as 13 points in the game. However, they came back with an impressive second half, outscoring the Gaels 50-37.
For the Eagles, sophomore Kelly Hughes made a huge impact, as she scored a career-high 24 points while notching seven rebounds and six assists. Another noteworthy player for the Eagles was junior Nicole Boudreau, who scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half. Boudreau also secured nine rebounds and six assists for the game.
Hughes is the Eagles’ leading scorer with 14 points per game, leading passer at 4.5 assists per game and third-leading rebounder with five boards per game. Boudreau also poses a threat, as she is BC’s second-leading scorer with 13 PPG, second-leading rebounder with 5.5 RPG and third-leading distributor with 2.5 APG.
This will be BC’s first home game of the season and the first of a two-game homestand. For BU, this will be their second road game of the season, after losing its first to Northeastern University, 75-74, Friday.
“We’re still watching them, but obviously they’ve got the size advantage and experience advantage in that they’ve had their system in place for more than two games,” Steding said of the Eagles. “They have some good shooters, take a lot of 3’s and run the floor really well. They know their looks really well. They’re tough to play against. You gotta be on the top of your game defensively with them.”
Alexander mainly covers field hockey for the Daily Free Press. On his days off, he catches up on playing basketball and soccer and cheers on the New York Giants, Knicks, and Yankees. He previously interned at the office of U.S. Senator Edward Markey.
