2010-11 Women's Basketball Season Outlook
November 12, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Virtual Guide | Boston Globe Feature: Guardedly Optimistic
BOSTON - The Boston University women's basketball team enters the 2010-11 season as the the preseason favorite to win the America East Women's Basketball Championship after a 2009-10 campaign that displayed a youthful starting lineup with five underclassmen finish third in the league and make its second straight appearance in the postseason. Now a seasoned group, the Terriers have an arsenal of weapons they can use as they embark on one of the toughest schedules in program history.
"We have exciting plans for this season," said head coach Kelly Greenberg. "We are looking forward to a very high-octane offense and a new brand of up-tempo defense as well. This is one of the reasons our daily commitment to our overall fitness level is so important to us."
WHO'S RETURNING?
The Boston University women's basketball team, the 2010 America East Conference preseason favorite, returns all five starters and 10 letter winners from last year's team that finished third in the America East Conference and advanced to the WNIT for the second consecutive season. On the court in 2010-11, the Terriers will have 84.5 percent of its scoring back from a year ago, 82.5 percent of its perimeter shooting, and 80 percent of its rebounding.
Head coach Kelly Greenberg also returns three all-conference honorees - headed by AE Rookie of the Year and All-Conference First Team selection Chantell Alford. Classmate Mo Moran and junior Alex Young were named to the All-Conference Third Team. Additionally, senior Kerry Cashman and junior Caroline Stewart return to the front court.
Alford stepped right into a starting role early on in the season and went on to break the freshman scoring record (447 pts), which was previously held by Katie Terhune (`01), BU's all-time leading scorer. At season's end she not only earned the conference's Rookie of the Year, but she was also the first AE rookie since Cindy Blodgett (Maine `95) to earn a spot on the first team. Alford is fast and can shoot it from anywhere on the court. She can drive to the basket or pull up for a 3-pointer, which she did plenty last year, connecting on 51 treys, which was good for second on the squad.
Alongside Alford in the Terriers' backcourt is Moran. Running the point as a rookie in 2010, Moran accumulated 4.26 apg and had the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in America East with a 1.45 mark. Moran is a smart and efficient point guard, who not only logged an impressive 1,166 minutes last season, but only turned the ball over 91, an notable feat since she was the squad's main ball handler as a rookie. She was also a prolific scorer, averaging 12.4 ppg - good for third on the team.
Young rounds out the trio of Terrier guards. She came into her own as a sophomore, averaging 14.5 ppg and 3.7 rpg. Young is an ever-present 3-point threat, connecting on 58-of-169 attempts last year, which moved her into 10th all-time on BU's career leaders list for 3-pointers (83). In addition, she had one of only three 30+ point performances in the league last year.
Also returning to the Terriers backcourt are seniors Kat Briggs and Krystyn McIntyre, along with junior Kasie Carbacio and sophomore Kristen Sims.
Briggs is an experienced guard for the Terriers and has played in 68 contests over three seasons. She averages 2.5 ppg. Sims had a good freshman campaign as she kicked it off with a 17-point performance at Kentucky on Nov. 13 of last year. She went on to average 3.3 ppg in 21 appearances.
Meanwhile, the duo of Cashman and Stewart will be ever-present on the boards after combining last season to grab 349 rebounds.
Cashman started 26-of-31 games as the team's center and its main shot blocker. She swatted a team-high 36 shots in 2009-10 - including three games of four blocks - to finish sixth in the conference in that category. She averaged 3.2 ppg and 4.0 rpg.
Last year, Stewart started 27-of-31 games and became BU's leading rebounder as she averaged 7.3 rpg, including 148 defensive boards. On March 5, against UMBC she brought down a career-high 15 rebounds in the America East quarterfinals. She owned BU's top two single-game highs of the 2009-10 season with her 15 against UMBC and another 14 vs. the Retrievers on Feb. 24.
WHO'S NEW?
Greenberg welcomes four fresh faces to the squad as Rashidat Agboola, Danielle Callahan, Melissa Gallo and Whitney Turner will all don the scarlet and white.
Agboola capped off an impressive career at Methuen High School as a McDonald's All-American Nominee. During her four years at Methuen, Agboola was a Merrimack Valley Conference Player of the Year (2008) and lead the region in scoring, averaging 21.7 ppg with 13.5 rpg. Her squad won the MVC Small School championship three times.
Callahan, who is a LaSalle transfer and is eligible to play in 2011-12, graduated from Cardinal O'Hara in Drexel Hill, Pa. in 2009. As a freshman at LaSalle, she played in all 29 games and averaged 15.0 minutes per game. During her high school career, her team gained prestige as the fourth-ranked team in the state and was a top 20 program nationally in various polls.
Gallo, a three-time First Team All-Liberty District honoree, is a recent graduate of W.T. Woodson High School, which was a two-time North Regional Playoff contender and earned a trip to the finals in her sophomore season. As a sophomore the team advanced to the VHSL AAA State Quarterfinals. She is a two-time Washington Post All-League Team honoree and played AAU for the Vogues and was a US Junior National All-Star.
Rounding out the class is Turner, a native of Okemos, Mich. She is a three-time all-conference honoree and was a Class-A BCAM All-State selection as a sophomore and junior. She is an AAU All-American and the squad went on to win the state championships and place fourth at nationals.
SCHEDULE
BU takes on a challenging schedule this year as it features eight squads that competed in the 2010 postseason, including three from the America East Conference. Following a 13-game non-conference schedule that boasts two teams that finished last year in the AP top-20, BU will open its conference slate at Case Gym against Maine on Jan. 2. The Terriers will take on squads from the ACC, Big 12, Big East and Atlantic-10. Highlights include the home opener versus the Eagles (Nov. 12), an early December road match at six-time MAAC champion Marist (Dec. 11) and a pair of games against Big East foes St. John's (Dec. 4) and Providence (Dec. 31).
