Terriers Finish Road Trip At Marist
December 12, 2014 | Women's Basketball
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TONIGHT'S GAME
The Boston University women's basketball team finishes its three-game road trip on Saturday with a game at Marist at 7 p.m. It's the final game for the Terriers until Dec. 28 when it finishes 2014 with two straight home games.
THE TERRIERS
BU is 3-6 on the year and is led by forwards Meghan Green (13.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Mollie McKendrick (11.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg). Both are shooting exceptionally well with field goal percentages of 49.5 and 48.3, respectively. McKendrick has been especially good from the floor as of late, shooting 62.1 percent after earning back her starting role for the past three games. She is averaging 12.7 points in those contests.
The Terriers are still looking for their first win on an opponent's home court, having won only one game on the road against Stephen F. Austin in New Mexico's gym.
THE RED FOXES
After losing the first four games of the season, Marist has won four of the last five to take a 4-5 record on the year. The Red Foxes are currently on a three-game win streak, beating Monmouth, Rider and Albany in that span.
Marist is led by Madeline Blais, who is averaging 15.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg. After missing the first six games of the year, Tori Jarosz has emerged as a threat, averaging 17.7 ppg and 7.7 rpg in the three contests she has participated in. Sydney Coffey is also averaging double figures (11.1) and leads the team in assists with 23 on the season.
As a team, the Red Foxes average 59.2 points per game and a respectable 12.2 turnovers per game. They struggle on the boards, however, averaging just 35.7 rebounds per game, over eight less than their opponents.
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will be streamed live on the Red Fox Network and can be listened to on Terrier Sports Radio Network with Joe Weil and John-Michael Sedor on the call. Live stats are available at goRedFoxes.com and fans can follow along with the action by following @BUGameDay on Twitter, which will feature live updates throughout the game.
THE SERIES
This Saturday is the 11th all-time meeting between Marist and BU and the series is currently tied at 5-5. Marist claimed victory in the last matchup with the Terriers, taking a 76-65 win at Case Gym.
Boston U. has beaten the Red Foxes just twice on their home court, most recently in 2012 when the Terriers fought to a 62-56 overtime victory at Marist.
A TERRIER WIN WOULD...
...Give BU the upper-hand in the series, taking a winning record of 6-5 all-time against Marist.
...Snap its three-game losing streak.
...Be BU's first win on an opponent's home court this year.
LAST TIME OUT
The Terriers could not overcome a second-half surge by the Rams and lost their third-straight contest at Rhode Island on Tuesday night. Three BU freshmen had career nights in the loss, with Kara Sheftic notching personal bests in points (12) and rebounds (6), Corrine Williams scoring a career-high seven points and Meghan Doogan tallying her first collegiate points with a three-pointer. Sheftic's 12 points was also the most scored by a BU player against URI.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After a long trip to New Mexico last week, the Terriers are back on the road for a three-game trip, starting with Yale last Saturday. BU had a mid-week matchup with the Rams on Tuesday and then heads to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on Marist on Saturday before going on a holiday hiatus until January 28.
McKENDRICK ON A HOT STREAK
The team's lone senior has drastically improved her game over the last four contests, earning back her starting job along the way. After opening the season with a 19-point performance against Northeastern, the captain's output was less-than adequate and she was transitioned to a bench player. McKendrick had a break-out performance against Stephen F. Austin, however, tallying her first double-double of the year which earned her a place on the starting lineup. The Australia native did not disappoint and followed up with her second-consecutive double-double in her first start since Nov. 20 against New Hampshire.
Over the last four games, McKendrick has averaged a team-leading 14.8 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. She is shooting an incredible 64.3 percent from the floor in those contests as well.
BY THE NUMBERS
BU has found the most success this season when it scores over 60 points in a game, losing just one of four contests when it achieves that benchmark. The only loss it has suffered when topping 60 was to Northeastern, a game it lost by one point. The Terriers are great in sticky situations, accumulating a 3-1 record when a game is decided by five points or less.
SOPHOMORE STANDOUTS
This year's sophomore class has taken the reigns of a young Terrier team as Meghan Green and Sarah Hope are among the squad's leading scorers. Green is BU's top scorer, averaging 13.7 points per contest while Hope is close behind with 10.0 ppg.
Hope, BU's starting shooting guard, leads the team with 3.3 assists per game. Classmate Courtney Latham, BU's starting point guard, is also a great helper, averaging 3.2 assists per game.
Green, a starting forward, is also the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.9 boards per game.
THANKSGIVING IN THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT
BU spent Thanksgiving in Albuquerque, N.M. for the New Mexico Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 28-29. The Terriers came away 1-1 in the tournament, coming up short against New Mexico before beating Stephen F. Austin. It was BU's first time playing in the state of New Mexico.
PATRIOT LEAGUE NETWORK
The Patriot League, in collaboration with Campus Insiders, enters its second season this year. The PL will live-stream hundreds of its men and women's sporting events, add studio programming and grow distribution on multiple platforms and devices. All BU women's basketball home games, and road conference games that are not part of a television package, will be available to watch for free on the PLN.
KEEPING IT LOCAL
Boston University made its rounds with the Boston-area teams, playing all three to start the season. The Terriers began the year at Northeastern, losing a 75-74 heartbreaker before opening their home schedule with a thrilling 63-62 victory against Harvard. BU wasn't able to keep the momentum going, however, and lost at BC, 73-56 on Thursday night.
THE STEDING ERA
In its second season in a new conference, the Terriers have started yet another new era with the hiring of head coach Katy Steding. Steding comes to Boston University after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at California. Although this is her first year as a head coach in Division I, Steding spent seven years at the helm of the Warner Pacific College (NAIA) program following an impressive playing career.
Steding was part of the 1996 "Women's Dream Team" alongside Teresa Edwards, Rebecca Lobo and Sheryl Swoopes, which went 60-0 en route to an Olympic gold medal in the Atlanta Summer Olympics. Prior to her professional career, where she played in both the ABL and WNBA, Steding helped Stanford win its first National Championship and was named the CBS/Chevrolet Player of the Game.
THE STARS AMONG US
Assistant coaches Cindy Blodgett and Taj McWilliams-Franklin have both had impressive playing careers in the WNBA. McWilliams-Franklin was a 13-year WNBA veteran and six-time WNBA All-Star after being selected in the third round of the 1999 WNBA Draft by the Orlando Miracle. She won two WNBA titles, first with the Detroit Shock in 2008 and then with the Minnesota Lynx in 2011. McWilliams-Franklin is touted as one of the best post players in league history and still holds the record for career offensive rebounds with 1,062 and is second all-time in total rebounds. She is also one of just 12 players to score 5,000 career points.
Blodgett, a four-time All-American at Maine, had a four-year tour in the WNBA where she spent the 2000 season as a teammate of head coach Katy Steding. Blodgett opted to pursue coaching rather than continue her professional career, and began as an assistant coach at none other than Boston University in 1999. After spending some time at Brown, Blodgett was hired as the head coach of her alma mater, Maine, where she spent four years at the helm of the Black Bears. Most recently she served as an assistant coach at Rhode Island before returning to BU.
