Women's Basketball Set to Face New Hampshire on Sunday
February 14, 2009 | Women's Basketball
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BOSTON - The Boston University women’s basketball team (16-6, 10-0 AE) will make the short trek to Durham, N.H., on Sunday (Feb. 15) as it takes on New Hampshire (6-18, 4-6 AE) at 1 p.m. The Terriers enter the match-up boasting an 11-game winning streak and an undefeated mark in league play, while the Wildcats are looking to rebound from a 57-49 loss in Maine on Thursday.
THE TERRIERS: The Terriers, who currently sport an impressive +16.3 scoring margin over AE opponents, are led by seniors Jesyka Burks-Wiley (18.5 ppg), Kristi Dini (12.0), Christine Kinneary (11.4) and Amarachi Umez-Eronini (11.0), as all four rank in the top 13 in the America East Conference in scoring. Burks-Wiley, also the team’s leading rebounder (7.5 rpg), is second in the league and 26th nationally with her career-high 18.5 ppg.
Dini is closing in on two records – the single-season and career 3-point marks. The Putnam Valley, N.Y., native has hit 63 this season and needs just 10 more to break the mark which is held by Becky Bonner (2003-04). In addition, she has eclipsed 162 over her career and will need to make just 11 more to become the program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers.
The Terriers have been consistent from the floor and currently lead the conference in scoring (72.0 ppg), field goal percentage (.431) and free throw percentage (.731). BU’s defense has also been stellar this season as it owns a league-leading 9.5 steals per game. Umez-Eronini, the team’s defensive specialist, leads the league and is ranked 27th nationally in steals with 9.5 spg.
THE WILDCATS: The Wildcats entered the conference slate with a 2-12 record, but have since tripled their win total with victories over Maine, 51-47, Stony Brook, 75-65, Albany, 66-54, and UMBC, 73-65. UNH has split its season series with Maine with a recent 57-49 loss in Orono, despite 17 points and six rebounds from junior Amy Simpson. Candace Williams and Simpson lead UNH offense with 16.1 and 12.7 ppg, respectively, while Williams is also the squad’s leading rebounder (7.9 rpg). As a team, UNH is shooting .360 from the field and .272 from behind the arc.
BU VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE: The series with the Wildcats is the fourth-oldest rivalry for the team. BU has won 11 of the last 15 meetings and it leads the all-times series, 30-29. The Terriers owned the first decade of the series, going 11-4 from Feb. 21, 1978 to Feb. 6, 1988, while the Wildcats won 11 of the next 15 meetings.
WINNING RESOLUTIONS: The start of the New Year has been good to the Terriers as they went unbeaten in the month of January and have continued that success into February. Following its Dec. 30 loss to St. John’s, 74-66, Boston University turned it on in the new year, embarking on a program record 11-game winning streak - five on the road and six at home.
BU is off to its best start in conference play in program history. The Terriers’ next best league start was in the 1987-88 when they went 9-0 before a loss ended the streak.
TERRIERS REMAIN UNBEATEN IN AE CONFERENCE: The Terriers are now just one of 13 teams in the country that are unbeaten in their respective conference.
School, Conference, Conf. W-L Record (as of Feb. 10)
Sacred Heart, Northeast, 14-0
Wisconsin-Green Bay, Horizon League, 13-0
Middle Tennessee, Sun Belt, 13-0
California, Pac 10, 11-0
NC A&T, MEAC, 11-0
UC Santa Barbara, Big West, 10-0
Boston University, America East, 10-0
Bowling Green, Mid-American, 10-0
Connecticut, Big East, 10-0
Liberty, Big South, 9-0
Xavier, Atlantic 10, 9-0
Oklahoma, Big 12, 9-0
Dartmouth, Ivy League, 6-0
DINI FOR THREE!: Senior sharp-shooter Kristi Dini continues to knock down threes this season, as the Putnam Valley, N.Y., native has already nailed 63 3-pointers, surpassing her total from the 2007-08 campaign, and is on pace to break the single-season mark, which is currently held by Becky Bonner (72). From Dec. 3 to Jan. 28, spanning 12 consecutive game, Dini hit at least one three. During this stretch, she reached as high as second in the country in 3-pointers per game.
In four seasons she has hit 162 treys, which is second all-time. She is currently second in the conference and is ranked seventh in the nation in 3-pointers per game (2.9). At UMass (Jan. 2), Dini matched a career-best with six treys and was just one shy of tying a school record. She has hit six in a game on two occasions.
CLASS ACTS: The Terriers’ senior class of Jesyka Burks-Wiley, Kristi Dini, Christine Kinneary and Amarachi Umez-Eronini need three more wins to become the all-time winningest class in program history. They currently own a .605 winning percentage over four seasons – the best in 19 years – with a 69-45 record.
The class of ’90 was 71-42 (.628), recording the most wins over a four-year period at BU. Lynn Bay, Renee Doctor, Marjorie Haney, Lynne Ranando and Tia Theriault were members of that class.
TERRIERS IN THE NATIONAL RANKS: Seniors Kristi Dini, Christine Kinneary, Jesyka Burks-Wiley and Amarachi Umez-Eronini currently rank among the nation’s elite in their respective categories. Dini is seventh in 3-pointers per game (2.9), while Kinneary is 17th in assist/turnover ratio (2.02). Burks-Wiley’s offensive surge has catapulted her to 26th in points per game (18.5), while Umez-Eronini is 27th in steals (2.8). The national rankings are released twice a week, and these statistics are as of Feb. 13.
KINNEARY ECLIPSES ASSIST RECORD: On Wednesday, Feb. 4, senior Christine Kinneary broke one of the oldest records on the books, as she became the program’s all-time assist leader, which now stands at 487. Kinneary also owns the single-season record (214, 2007-08), which is also a conference record, and tied a single-game record (14) last year against Northeastern on Nov. 19, 2007.
She is one of only three BU women’s basketball players to surpass 400 helpers, joining Debbie Miller (’81) and Andrea Higgins (’93) in the elite group. She is currently tied for fourth all-time in the America East.
UP NEXT: BU will continue its three-game road stretch, with Binghamton (Feb. 18) followed by Hartford (Feb. 24). The game in West Hartford, Conn., will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet at 7 p.m.
