Terriers Open Conference Play Against Holy Cross
December 30, 2014 | Women's Basketball
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TODAY'S GAME
BU opens its conference schedule against Holy Cross at Case Gym on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m. The Terriers finished their non-conference schedule on Sunday against Massachusetts.
THE TERRIERS
BU finished its non-conference schedule with a 3-8 record and looks to improve its play during the conference slate. Meghan Green and Mollie McKendrick lead the squad as the only double-digit scorers with Green averaging 12.9 points per game and McKendrick tallying 10.5 per contest. McKendrick also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.3 boards per game.
Despite their record, the Terriers are only outscored by their opponents by eight points per contest. They are also better than their foes on the boards, outrebounding opponents 42.0-39.3.
HOME SWEET HOME
Boston U. has seen most of its success at home, going 2-2 at Case Gym. The Terriers defeated Harvard and Vermont at The Roof before dropping contests to New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
BU has much more success in ball handling on its home court, posting a positive turnover margin (+0.2) at Case Gym as compared to other venues (-7.1) where the team did not fare as well. The Terriers also force turnovers more at home, stealing the ball 6.3 times to the opponent's 4.8 per game. In all other contests BU steals the ball 4.6 times to the opponent's 10.3 per game.
THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross enters Wednesday's game with a 4-9 record and having lost its last contest to Western Michigan on Monday. The Crusaders opened the season on a six-game losing streak but since then have posted a 4-3 record, defeating Georgetown, Boston College, UMass-Lowell and Norfolk State. Though Holy Cross has won games on the road, it has yet to claim victory on its opponents' home court, going 0-5 in away games and 2-3 in neutral site contests.
Raquel Scott leads the team and is nearly averaging a double-double, posting 19.1 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Two other crusaders average double-digit scoring, with Lisa Mifsud tallying 14.1 points per game and Kate Gillespie contributing 10.5 each contest.
SHEFTIC NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
After setting a career-high against Rhode Island, freshman forward Kara Sheftic matched her performance against Marist, scoring 12 points in each contest. The display was enough to earn her the Patriot League Rookie of the Week title, BU's first recipient of the season.
Meghan Green is the only other Terrier to be honored by the conference this season, earning Player of the Week distinction in the second week of competition.
GAME COVERAGE
Wednesday's game will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network and is free for all to view. Fans can also listen live on Terrier Sports Radio Network or follow along on twitter with live updates on @BUGameDay.
THE SERIES
Wednesday will be the 14th all-time meeting between the Terriers and the Crusaders. Holy Cross is leading the series with a 10-3 record though BU claimed victory in their last meeting, defeating the Crusaders 67-65 at home.
A TERRIER WIN WOULD...
...Snap their five-game losing skid, the program's longest since the 2004-05 season when BU also dropped five straight.
...Restore BU's winning record at Case Gym this season.
...Get them off to a 1-0 start in Patriot League play.
LAST TIME OUT
The Terriers lost its final non-conference game to UMass on Sunday, dropping a 78-57 decision to the Minutewomen. Courtney Latham had a breakout day, scoring a career-high 14 points and tallying a personal best five steals. Mollie McKendrick also contributed a team-leading 14 points in the loss.
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 12.9 points per contest while Hope is close behind with 9.5 ppg.
Hope, BU's starting shooting guard, is second on the team in assists (3.0/game) while classmate Courtney Latham, BU's starting point guard, leads the team with 3.3 per contest.
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.
