Women's Basketball Opens 2017-18 Campaign Against Northeastern Friday
November 9, 2017 | Women's Basketball
| Women's Basketball (0-0, 0-0 PL) vs. Northeastern (0-0, 0-0 CAA) | |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | Friday, Nov. 10 | 5:30 p.m. |
| Venue | Case Gym "The Roof" | Boston, Mass. |
| Tickets | Single Game | Season Tickets |
| Live Stats | GoTerriers.com |
| Game Notes | BU | NU |
| Watch | Patriot League Network |
| @BUGameDay | @TerrierWBB | |
BOSTON – The Boston University women's basketball team will tipoff its 2017-18 campaign Friday night as it welcomes cross-town rival Northeastern to Case Gym for a 5:30 p.m. tilt as part of an opening night doubleheader with the men's team. Following the conclusion of the women's game, the men's team will take on the Huskies at 7:30 p.m.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
• BU was selected fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll.
• Led by fourth-year head coach Katy Steding, BU is coming off its best finish in Patriot League play as it posted an 11-7 record and went 13-17 overall.
• Senior Sophie Beaudry was named to the Patriot League Preseason All-League Team.
BU IN SEASON OPENERS
• The Terriers own a 17-25 record in their first game of the season.
• Last year, BU lost its season opener to Northeastern, 78-59, for the fourth straight season.
• BU has opened its season against the Huskies every year since the Terriers joined the Patriot League in 2013.
• All-time, BU is 12-13 in home openers.
SOPHIE SO IMPORTANT
• In her first season as a Terrier, Beaudry burst onto the Patriot League scene averaging a league-best .509 field goal percentage and 2.1 blocks per game to earn spots on the All-Patriot League First Team and the All-Defensive Team.
• The senior notched double digit scoring figures in all but three league contests and led the Terriers in points (12.9) and rebounds (6.0) per game.
• Hailing from Chambly, Quebec, Beaudry posted four double-doubles and six 20-point games.
LOCKING THE LID
• The Terriers boasted one of the Patriot League's toughest defenses last season as they lead the league in defensive field goal percentage (.355) and ranked second in 3-point defensive field goal percentage (.274).
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
• Despite a 1-9 start last season, BU turned its season around, going 12-6 down the stretch.
• The Terriers reeled off a four-game win streak, its longest since the 2013-14 season, during Patriot League play.
RETURNING FOR MORE
• BU returns 10 letterwinners and welcomes three freshmen to the roster.
• Sophie Beaudry, Naiyah Thompson and Corrine Williams return to the starting lineup, marking Beaudry and Thompson's second year in the starting five, while Williams will enter her fourth season as a starter.
CAPTAINS OF THE SHIP
• Sophie Beaudry and Corrine Williams will serve as a co-captains this season.
• Williams enters her second year as a captain, while Beaudry will serve her first season in a leadership role.
ROOKIE REPORT
• Mackenzie Miers, Katie Nelson and Tenisha Pressley will look to made an immediate impact for the Terriers this season.
• Miers, a 6-2 forward, will look to provide depth to the Terriers post, while Nelson and Miers will bolster BU's backcourt.
STEADY AS SHE GOES
• Corrine Williams has improved steadily in each of her three seasons and posted career-highs in points per gmae (8.1) and 3-point field goal percentage (.333) last season.
• Williams also led the team with a .516 field goal percentage last season.
KEEPING IT LOCAL
• Of BU's 10 non-conference opponents, nine are from the northeast and three are located in Massachusetts.
• BU plays all three Boston-area schools in the first five games of the season, starting with its season opener against Northeastern before contests against Harvard and Boston College.
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
• The Huskies are coming off a 12-19 season, during which they posted an 8-10 record in CAA games.
• Claudia Ortiz, who led the Huskies with 13.0 points per game last season, was named to the CAA preseason all-conference team along with Jess Genco.
• Ortiz ranked fourth in both 3-point shooting percentage (39.7) and free throw percentage (80.4), while Genco led all DI players in minutes per game (38.71) and chipped in with 9.8 points per game.
• Along with Ortiz and Genco, Gabby Giacone and Shannon Todd also return to the starting lineup.
• The quartet accounted for 83 percent of Northeastern's total minutes and 77 percent of its scoring last season.
• Northeastern was selected to finish sixth in the CAA preseason poll.
• Kelly Cole enters her fourth season at the helm of the Huskies. After going 4-25 in her first season, Cole has steadily guided the Huskies to double digit wins in each of the past two seasons, and owns a 31-60 career record.
THE SERIES
• Friday's game marks the 76th meeting between the two Boston-based schools with the Terriers holding a 39-36 advantage in the series.
• Northeastern has the longest series with BU out of any opponent.
• The Terriers and the Huskies have met at least once every season since 1976. Both schools were members of the America East Conference until Northeastern left for the CAA in 2005.
• BU has dominated Northeastern in this millennium, as the Terriers are 16-10 against the Huskies since 2000, although the Huskies have had the edge over the last five seasons, winning each contest.
• The last time the pair played at Case Gym, the Huskies came away with a 77-44 win.
THE STEDING FILE
• Katy Steding enters her fourth season at the helm of the Terriers.
• Prior to heading to Boston, Steding spent two seasons as an assistant coach at California, one season as the associate head coach at San Francisco, and one season at Columbia.
• Though her first gig at the Division I level, Steding spent seven seasons as the head coach at Warner Pacific College (NAIA).
• Prior to her coaching career, Steding played in the WNBA, ABA and for Team USA, with whom she won a gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
• The Oregon native played college ball at Stanford and led the Cardinal to its first-ever National Championship.
PATRIOT LEAGUE NETWORK
• The Patriot League Network, in collaboration with Campus Insiders, enters its fourth season this year.
• The Patriot League will live-stream hundreds of its men's 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 PLN.
