Terriers Set to Take on Harvard Sunday Afternoon
December 5, 2009 | Women's Basketball
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BOSTON - Following back-to-back wins, the Boston University women’s basketball team (3-3) will look to keep its momentum going as it will take on its second consecutive Ivy League opponent on Sunday afternoon when it travels to Harvard (4-3) for a 2 p.m. match-up.
THE TERRIERS: The Terriers successfully strung together their first winning streak of the young season with victories over Northeastern, 83-78, and Brown, 87-58. Against the Bears, sophomore Alex Young had a breakout game, scoring an impressive 33 points – a career high – which was also the second highest single-game point total in the America East this season.
With that performance, Young is now the team leader in points per game with 14.3, and she is closely followed by Caitlynn Moran with 14.0 ppg. Senior Aly Hinton posted 16 points vs. Brown to up her season average to 9.8 ppg. Hinton is also tied for the team lead in rpg with Caroline Stewart as each is averaging 6.3 pg.
The Terriers are averaging 68.5 ppg, which ranks second in the AE, and they have held opponents to just .220 from the 3-point arc – a conference best.
THE CRIMSON: Harvard currently has three student-athletes averaging double-figures as Emma Markley leads the way with 16.0 ppg, and she is followed by Victoria Lippert and Brogan Berry with 13.7 and 11.1 ppg, respectively. Markley has also made her presence known on the boards with 6.4 rpg. Harvard has outscored its opponents by just 1.0 ppg but is coming off 17-point victory vs. Holy Cross on Dec. 3.
LAST TIME OUT (Brown: Dec 2, 2009): Alex Young had an impressive night on Wednesday as the sophomore guard poured in a career-high 33 points for BU as the squad defeated Brown (2-5), 87-58, at Pizzitola Sports Center. Young is the first Terrier to reach 30 points since Jesyka Burks-Wiley accomplished the feat last year at Maine when she netted 32. In addition to Young, senior Aly Hinton scored in double digits with 16 points, and she was followed by Caitlynn Moran with 11 and freshman Chantell Alford with 10 points apiece. Young was 10-for-15 from the field, 5-for-6 from behind the arc and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Her 33-point performance is the second highest in the conference this season. Alford recorded a team-high four blocks, while Moran dished out five assists. As a team, BU shot 46.7 percent from the field and outrebounded Brown, 35-32. BU outscored Brown, 30-20, on turnovers and 17-11 on second-chance points.
LAST TIME OUT VS. HARVARD (Dec. 9, 2008): Led by five players in double figures and a 20-for-23 performance from the free-throw line, the BU staved off a furious second-half Harvard rally to claim an 80-61 victory on Tuesday (Dec. 9, 2008) at Case Gym. The win marked the program's 450th in 34 seasons and also extended the Terriers' home unbeaten streak to 13 games. The starting five all reached double figures as Jesyka Burks-Wiley, the America East Player of the Game, poured in a game-high 21 points and was followed by Amarachi Umez-Eronini (14), Kristi Dini (12), Aly Hinton (11) and Christine Kinneary (10). Hinton was one board shy of a double-double as she brought down a game-high nine rebounds.
The Terriers led by as many as 23 points in the first half, aided by a thrilling 15-0 run to start the contest, but a tough Harvard side cut the deficit to six points with nine minutes remaining in the second stanza. A 3-pointer from Dini broke a nearly six-minute scoreless stretch at 8:16 and jumpstarted BU's offense, which stretched the lead back to double digits and also hit 14 of its 15 free-throw attempts in the final five minutes.
BU VS. HARVARD: The rivalry between BU and Harvard has remained close with BU leading by a slim 13-11 margin in the 30-year-old series. The two teams played from 1976-77 to 1980-81 consecutively and twice from 1986-88 before the rivalry began to be contested annually since the 1992-93 season. The Terriers are 6-5 at home, 5-5 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites against Harvard.
The Terriers' biggest win came in 1979-80 at Lavietes Pavilion when BU defeated Harvard by 39 points (88-49). Harvard's biggest victory was also by more than 30, as the Crimson held the Terriers to just 49 points in an 83-49 decision at Case Gym in 1993-94. Harvard's longest win streak in the series is three games, from 1987-88 to 1993-94, while BU's is five games (1977-78 to 1986-87).
The Terriers have won four of the last five meetings.
BU VS. THE IVY LEAGUE: The Terriers own a 46-24 (.657) advantage over Ivy League opponents all-time with its two closest rivals with Brown (10-6) and Harvard (13-11).
Brown (10-6)
Columbia (1-0)
Cornell (0-0)
Dartmouth (13-6)
Harvard (13-11)
Penn (0-0)
Princeton (0-0)
Yale (9-1)
GREENBERG VS. THE IVY LEAGUE: Head coach Kelly Greenberg is quite familiar with the Ivy League after coaching at the University of Pennsylvania for five seasons (1999-04). During that time, she amassed a 51-19 (.729) record in conference action and since taking over the helm at BU she is 9-1 (.900).
Since coming to Boston University in the 2004-05 season, Greenberg has coached the Terriers to an 9-1 record against the Ivy’s, with the only loss coming at Harvard last year.
Overall Greenberg is 60-20 (.750) against the league.
AMERICA EAST VS. NON-CONFERENCE OPPPONENTS: In the non-conference portion of the America East Conference’s 2009-10 schedule, AE schools have gone 27-25 (.519). Some impressive conference wins include Hartford’s victory over then-No. 19/23 Louisville, a team that played in the NCAA national championship game last year, and Vermont’s back-to-back wins NC State and Boston College.
MORAN EARNS AE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK (Nov. 30): Freshman Caitlynn ‘Mo’ Moran has earned the Boston University women’s basketball team’s first America East weekly honor, as she was named the league’s Rookie of the Week after posting a career-high 24 points in the Terriers’ 83-78 win over Northeastern last week. The conference made the announcement on Monday, Nov. 30. Moran led the Terriers to a victory over Northeastern last week with her 24 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals. She was named the America East Player of the Game against the Huskies as she shot 52.9 percent (9-for-17) from the field, 50 percent (3-for-6) from beyond the 3-point arc and hit 3-of-4 free-throw attempts in the last minute of regulation to seal the win at The Roof. Moran is sixth in America East averaging 14.6 ppg and is fifth in assist/turnover ratio with a mark of 1.2.
