Jan. 20, 2010
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BOSTON - Riding a wave of momentum, the Boston University women's basketball team (9-8, 5-0 AE) will host Hartford (14-3, 5-0 AE) on Thursday night at Case Gym. Both squads are the last two undefeated teams in America East play and will square off for the top spot in the standings.
THE TERRIERS: Boston University, which owns a five-game winning streak, has outscored its America East opponents by 11.0 ppg and boasts the second-most prolific offense in the conference with 67.9 ppg. Leading the way is rookie Chantell Alford, who is averaging 15.5 ppg - second in the America East - followed by sophomore Alex Young with 14.4 ppg and classmate Caitlynn Moran with 13.1. Senior Aly Hinton has been the team's leading rebounder all season with 6.1 rpg and additionally she has been reliable from the charity stripe with an 88.4 free throw percentage.
Hinton, who has been a mainstay since her arrival on campus, is a mere 27 points away from breaking the 1,000-point barrier and is on pace to become the fourth player to do so in the last four seasons.
The Terriers, who have won 25-straight in the AE regular season over the last three seasons, have also not lost to an America East foe on their home court since Feb. 10, 2007.
LAST TIME OUT VS. HARTFORD (Feb. 24, 2009): In a thrilling come-from-behind victory, BU overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to earn an 80-75 overtime decision at Hartford on Tuesday evening. The Terriers handed the Hawks their first conference home loss in four years. Christine Kinneary and Alex Young turned in career performances with 27 and 19 points, respectively, while Kristi Dini nailed a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Dini's clutch trey broke a single-season America East record in the process and the Terriers are moved to 3-0 in extra periods this season. Kinneary, BU's America East Player of the Game, was 9-for-16 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line to go along with six assists and one block. Young also posted a then-career high with her 17 points backed by a 60.0 percent field goal shooting performance. With the victory, the Terriers' senior class becomes the program's all-time winningest class with 72 career wins.
BU VS. HARTFORD: The Terriers and Hawks have a long and storied history together and in recent years the teams have only added to it, meeting in three of the last five America East championship games, including 2008's game in West Hartford, Conn.
BU leads by a slim 28-25 margin in the all-time series history - including last season's thrilling 80-75 overtime victory in West Hartford, Conn. In 2007-08, Kristi Dini's game-winning, half-court buzzer-beater lifted the Terriers over the Hawks, 62-60, in the conference opener and the Hawks responded with a 61-54 win at Chase Arena a month later. In the postseason, BU made a thrilling ride to the championship game, which included a double-overtime win against Vermont; however, the Hawks came out victorious with a 62-45 triumph to earn their fourth title.
The series began in the 1985-86 season when the Terriers rattled off 13 consecutive victories. Hartford earned its first win of the series on Feb. 2, 1991 - a 60-48 decision. The Hawks won three of the next four games before BU put together a string of four straight wins. From Jan. 4, 1996, to Jan. 21, 2001, Hartford won 10-of-11 games. The Terriers started the 2000's winning 7-of-11 contests; however, in recent history, the Hawks have become a power in the conference and taken the past 10 out of 13 meetings.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior Aly Hinton currently ranks ninth all-time in career rebounds with 629 boards, fifth all-time in career free throw percentage (.798) and ninth in 3-pointers (84).
HINTON SET TO JOIN EXCLUSIVE CLUB: Senior Aly Hinton is on pace to join an exclusive club of BU women's basketball players who have surpassed 1,000 points and 600 rebounds.
1,000-point, 600-rebound Terriers:
Debbie Miller `81 - 1,869 points, 1,198 rebounds
Alison Dixon `01 - 1,648 points, 695 rebounds
Jill Sosnak `95 - 1,430 points, 828 rebounds
Andrea Ashuk `89 - 1,348 points, 681 rebounds
Aly Hinton `10 - 973 points, 629 rebounds
COMEBACK KIDS: The Terriers overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat No. 24 on Monday night using a 17-3 first-half run to rally from behind. Two days earlier, BU went on an epic 27-0 run after trailing by eight to Albany to reclaim the lead and never look back in the nine-point victory.
AMERICA EAST DOMINANCE: BU has now won 25 straight against America East foes in the regular season and have collected 20 consecutive triumphs on their home court against the league. Their 25-straight is the third longest streak in the history of the conference. From Jan. 28, 1995-Jan. 30, 1997 Maine won 39 straight against the AE, while UVM won 31 straight from March 2, 1991-Jan. 20, 1994 in the conference regular season.
DOUBLE THE FUN: Freshman Chantell Alford has gone 13 straight games in double-digit scoring and classmate Caitlynn Moran and Alford have each reached 20 or more points on five occasions, which is the second most in the league. Sophomore Alex Young has turned the heat up this season as she currently averages 14.4 points per game and reached double figures in 12 consecutive games, which included back-to-back 20+-point performances, and spanned nearly two months (Nov. 21- Jan. 13).
CASE CLOSED: The confines of Case Gym have proven to be a formidable home-court advantage for the Terriers throughout the last four seasons as they have won 28-of-30 contests and are 23-2 against non-conference opponents in the last three seasons at Case Gymnasium. In addition, the Terriers have not lost to a conference opponent in 20 straight games, dating back to Feb. 17, 2007.
In 2007-08, BU was 11-0 overall and 8-0 in America East action, and the Terriers' only home loss came at Agganis Arena on Nov. 17, 2007 to then-No. 16 Ohio State. It marked the first time in program history the Terriers went undefeated at Case. Last year, BU went 12-1 at home with its lone home loss coming to St. John's on Dec. 30, 2008.
Six times, BU has lost just one home contest (2008-09, 2007-08, 1994-95, 1986-87, 1979-80, 1977-78).
COUNTDOWN TO 1,000; Less Than 30 to Go: Senior Aly Hinton is the next Terrier in line to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The Richboro, Pa., native is just a mere 27 points away and is on pace to become the 18th player in the program's 35-year history to accomplish the feat.
HINTON LIGHTS OUT FROM CHARITY STRIPE: Senior Aly Hinton has been the model of consistency from the free-throw line throughout her career as she currently ranks fifth all-time with a .798 percentage. In 2009-10, Hinton has been a sterling 38-for-43, which is the best percentage in the conference.
LAST TIME OUT (No. 24 Vermont, Jan. 19, 2010): Rallying from a 16-point deficit, BU stunned No. 24 Vermont, 73-64, on Monday, Jan. 19 at Case Gym in its first-ever win over a ranked opponent. Freshman Chantell Alford paced the offense with a career-high 28 points and classmate Caitlynn Moran added 20 as the Terriers extended their unbeaten streak in the America East regular season to 25 games.
The key for the Terriers was their free-throw shooting as they went 20-for-26 from the line and held the Catamounts to a stingy seven chances. BU shot 45.1 percent from the field and held UVM to 37.1 percent. The Terriers' bench outscored UVM, 7-2, and both squads brought down 39 boards. BU's defense also swatted four shots and earned eight steals.
Alford earned America East Player of the Game honors as she went 9-for-14 from the field with five treys and three steals and two blocks. Moran was 5-for-11 from the field and made it to the charity stripe 14 times, converting on 10 chances. She also dished out eight assists. Sophomore Caroline Stewart was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
