Nov. 19, 2008

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BOSTON - The Boston University women's basketball team (1-0) will open The Roof, where it went undefeated in 2007-08, on Thursday, Nov. 20, when Siena (0-2) comes to town for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Terriers went a perfect 11-0 at Case Gymnasium last season for the first time in program history and currently own a 13-game winning streak on their home court, dating back to the 2006-07 campaign.

THE TERRIERS: Boston University opened its season with a 50-45 victory over Atlantic 10 foe Rhode Island on Friday afternoon in Kingston, R.I., to give BU its third-straight season-opening win. Senior Jesyka Burks-Wiley led with a game-high 16 points to go along with nine rebounds, while classmate Christine Kinneary added 11 points and six rebounds.

Sophomore Kerry Cashman earned her first collegiate start in the contest and played in a career-high 32 minutes. Making their collegiate debuts as Terriers, freshmen Caroline Stewart and Alex Young also saw playing time on the court.

THE SAINTS: Siena, which was picked seventh in the 2008 MAAC preseason coaches' poll, returns junior forward Heather Stec, who is the lone returner from a year ago to start over half of the team's games. Joining Stec in the starting rotation is junior guard Allie Lindemann, who is a transfer from Kirkwood Community College, and led Kirkwood to a 72-7 record in two years and back-to-back junior college national championships. In addition, head coach Gina Castelli will start two freshmen, Cristina Centeno and Brittany Wilwohl, as well as junior Sarah Fullmer, a native of Swansea, Mass.

The Saints opened their season with back-to-back losses to Syracuse, 89-75, and URI, 66-60. Lindemann currently leads four players in double-figure scoring with 13.5 points per game. Junior Serena Moore posted 13 against Syracuse but did not see action vs. URI, and Stec, Wilwohl and Fullmer have averaged double digits in the first two games of the season.
 
BU VS. SIENA: After a 17-year hiatus, the Terriers and Saints revived the rivalry last year in a 70-66 BU win. The Terriers now lead the all-time series, 4-1. The two squads met three times in the mid- to late-80s (Jan. 12, 1985; Jan. 9, 1985; Jan. 9, 1989), all resulting in BU wins. The final meeting came on Jan. 20, 1990, when the Saints earned their only win in the series history. In that game, Siena led by just three points at the half before going on to win by a 10-point advantage, 69-59.

LAST TIME OUT VS. SIENA (Nov. 10, 2007): Backed by a then-career-high 18 points from Kasey Devine and another 18-point performance from Jesyka Burks-Wiley, Boston University staved off a late rally from Siena to earn a 70-66 victory in the season opener on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007.

Burks-Wiley was 5-14 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line. She also brought down a game-high eight rebounds. Devine was 7-10 from the field, 4-4 from the charity stripe and collected four rebounds.

As a team, the Terriers were 20-23 from the free-throw line and shot 43.7 percent for the game.

BU VS. THE MAAC: The Terriers are familiar with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), having faced Siena and Canisius over the last two seasons and Marist in 2004. BU owns a 15-7 advantage over MAAC opponents, and most recently faced off with Siena in last season's opener - a 70-66 BU triumph. In addition, they have played Canisius twice over the last three seasons (2005-06, 2006-07). The Terriers split with the Golden Griffins, with each team taking a win on the other's respective court.

    Canisius (1-1)
    Fairfield (3-3)
    Iona (1-0)
    Loyola (0-0)
    Manhattan (1-0)
    Marist (3-1)
    Niagara (2-0)
    Rider (0-0)
    St. Peter's (0-2)
     Siena (4-1)

LAST TIME OUT (URI, Nov. 14, 2008): Senior Jesyka Burks-Wiley netted a game-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the BU open the season with a 50-45 win over Rhode Island on Friday at the Thomas Ryan Center. Senior Christine Kinneary chipped in 11 points and six rebounds and junior Aly Hinton also brought down six boards.
    The Terriers jumped to an early lead, but the Rams came back to pull ahead in the second half before BU escaped with the win. Senior Crystal Bellinger led Rhode Island with 15 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field, and senior Sierra Cooper pulled down eight rebounds.

UP NEXT: The Terriers will make the quick turnaround and head straight to Iowa for the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa, to kick off a five-game road stretch that will culminate with a showdown at Ohio State in the Buckeye Classic. On Saturday (Nov. 22), BU will match-up with host Iowa before facing either Providence or Portland on Sunday (Nov. 23). After this weekend's tourney, the Terriers take on cross-town rival Northeastern on Tuesday (Nov. 25) and then head to Columbus for their game against the Buckeyes on Saturday (Nov. 29) and either Dayton or Central Michigan on Sunday (Nov. 30).

TERRIERS FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE: In BU's 50-45 win over URI last Friday, it was 15-for-18 from the free-throw line, picking up where it left off last year when it was an impressive .769 from the line - 13th best in the nation. Senior Jesyka Burks-Wiley was 7-for-8 to lead the squad and the Terriers hit their final eight points from the line to lift them to victory.

CASE CLOSED: The confines of Case Gym proved to be a formidable home-court advantage for the Terriers in 2007-08. BU was 11-0 overall and 8-0 in America East action. The Terriers' only home loss came at Agganis Arena on Nov. 17 to No. 16 Ohio State.

It marked the first time in program history the Terriers went undefeated at Case. In all, BU has won 13 straight dating back to the 2006-07 campaign. Its last loss at Case was to Stony Brook on Feb. 10, 2007.

Five times, BU has lost just one home contest (2007-08, 1994-95, 1986-87, 1979-80, 1977-78).

BU IN HOME OPENERS: BU is 19-14 all-time in home openers, and under head coach Kelly Greenberg the Terriers are 3-1. Last season, Boston University opened its historic home slate, where it went undefeated at Case, with a 77-56 victory over Rhode Island.

To purchase season tickets for women's basketball, please visit AgganisArena.com, call 617-353-GOBU (4628), or visit the Agganis Arena Ticket Office, located in Boston at 925 Commonwealth Avenue and open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Individual game tickets can be purchased here.