GAME NOTES: #16 Terriers Face #16 UConn In First-Ever NCAA Appearance
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WHO: #16 Boston University Terriers (16-14, 10-6 America East) at #1 University of Connecticut Huskies (31-1, 16-0 Big East)
WHEN: Sunday, March 23, at 12:06 p.m.
WHERE: Gampel Pavilion (10,037)
TV/RADIO/INTERNET: The B.U.-UConn game will be televised live on ESPN2. Boston Red Sox announcer Sean McDonough will call the action while Doris Burke will serve as the analyst.
The game will also be broadcast on WTBU-FM Radio and will be available at 640 AM or 89.3 FM in the Boston area and via the internet at www.WTBURadio.com. Brian Graham will call the action and Randy Brochu will provide the color commentary.
ON DECK: A win would send the Terriers into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Terriers would play the winner of the TCU-Michigan State first-round game.
TERRIERS VS. HUSKIES
In its NCAA Tournament debut, the 16th-seed B.U. women?s basketball team takes on first-seed Connecticut on Sunday at noon.
The Terriers earned the NCAA bid when they ended Maine?s 21-game win streak in the America East Championship finals with a 69-65 victory. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Katie Terhune led B.U. with 18 points in the final.
QUICK FACTS
- The Terriers will be making their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in the 28-year history of the program.
-2003 America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player Katie Terhune has scored in double figures in the last eight games and in 26 of 30 games this season. Terhune averaged 17.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting 42.2 percent from the floor and 50.0 from three-point range during the tourney.
- America East Rookie of the Year Katie Meinhardt scored 31 of her 37 points in the Tournament during the second half of games. Meinhardt scored 12 of her 14 points in the Championship game after the break.
- Entering the America East Tournament, the Terriers were ranked 15th in the nation in steals, averaging 12.6 a contest. Delaware State leads the nation with 14.6 steals a game.
- The Terriers are 4-0 in the State of Connecticut this season with a regular-season win over Hartford and three victories in the AE Tourney that was played in Hartford.
MEET COACH MCKEON
Terrier head coach Margaret McKeon has compiled a 51-65 overall record in four seasons at the helm. McKeon makes her first trip to the NCAA Tourney as a head coach, but went four times as an assistant coach. McKeon appeared in three tournaments as an assistant at George Washington and once with Arizona State.
INJURY UPDATE
- Freshman forward Shannon Petranoff has been out of the lineup for over two months with a stress fracture to her right foot.
- Junior guard Courtney Jones will miss the remainder of the season due to a right ankle injury she suffered prior to the Stanford game on Dec. 21.
- Junior guard Lashaunda Mitchell suffered a torn ACL against Albany on Jan. 9. Mitchell had surgery on her left knee on Feb. 24 and will miss the remainder of the season.
LAST GAME: B.U. 69, Maine 65
The third-seeded Boston University women?s basketball team earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid by defeating top-seed Maine, 69-65, in the America East Championship title game at the University of Hartford?s Chase Family Arena on Saturday, March 15.
Led by AE Tournament Most Outstanding Player Katie Terhune, the Terriers ended the Black Bears? 21-game winning streak to claim their first America East Championship since 1989 and third title in program history.
Terhune led the Terriers in scoring during all three tournament wins, capping off the run with an 18-point, six-rebound, and four-assist effort against the Black Bears in the finals.
America East Player of the Year Heather Ernest led Maine with a game-high 23 points and 16 rebounds.
Rookie of the Year Katie Meinhardt carried the Terriers in the second half, scoring 12 of her 14 points after the break.
While the Terriers led by at least eight for the majority of the second half, Maine went on a 7-0 rally with Missy Traversi hitting her third three-pointer of the game to cut the lead to 60-57 with 2:43 left in the game.
In what Terhune called ?the biggest shot of her life?, Meinhardt drained a three-pointer from the left baseline to give the Terriers a 63-57 lead at 1:47.
THREE TERRIERS NAMED TO AE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Leading the Terriers in scoring in each of the three tournament wins, junior guard Katie Terhune was named America East Championship Most Outstanding Player. Joining Terhune on the All-Tournament team were senior guard Alison Argentieri and sophomore forward Larissa Parr along with Maine?s Heather Ernest and New Hampshire?s Maren Matthias.
Terhune averaged 17.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while draining 7-of-14 three-pointers during the three-day tournament.
Argentieri averaged 9.0 points, 2.3 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
Parr played perhaps her basketball of the season at the tourney, averaging 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 blocks a game.
28 YEARS LATER...
The Terriers will be making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the 28-year history of the program.
In 1988 and 1989, the Terriers won the Seaboard Conference but did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
B.U. is one of four teams making their NCAA debut in 2003. Along with B.U., Valparaiso, Alabama State, and Charlotte will also be making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tourney.
REPRESENTING THE AMERICA EAST
The America East is 1-13 in the NCAA Championship, with the lone victory coming in 1999, when #10 Maine defeated #7 Stanford, 60-58, in the first round at ODU Fieldhouse in Norfolk, VA. The Black Bears fell to #2 ODU, 72-62, in the second round. Despite the record, the games have been tightly contested, as nine of the 14 games have been decided by 10 points or less, including a one-point loss, a two-point loss, and two five-point losses.
TWO RECORD-SETTING SEASONS
A pair of Katies, junior guard Katie Terhune and freshman guard Katie Meinhardt have both enjoyed record-setting seasons in 2003.
Terhune has totaled 518 points in 30 games, which ranks as the third-highest single season total in B.U. program history. Terhune has raised her career point total to 1,457, which ranks third on the all-time scoring list. From long range, Terhune has hit 53 three-point field goals, tying the program?s single-season record.
Following in the elder Katie?s footsteps, Meinhardt is enjoying one of the most impressive freshman campaigns in program history. Despite missing the first four games of the season with an elbow injury, Meinhardt totaled 292 points in 26 games, the seventh-highest single-season total by a freshman in B.U. program history. Terhune tallied a program-record 438 points in her freshman season in 2000-01.
ON THE ROAD
In 18 games away from Case Gymnasium, the Terriers have compiled a 9-9 record, including a 5-8 mark in road games and a 4-1 record at neutral sites.
In away games this season, Katie Terhune has been the team?s scoring leader, averaging 15.7 points a game. Katie Meinhardt has added 11.5 ppg while shooting a team-high 41.1 percent from three-point range. Marisa Moseley has led the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg), blocks (1.4 bpg), and steals (2.1 spg). Amparo Lopez has been the most consistent shooter, hitting 47.9 percent of her field goals, while Alison Argentieri leads the team in free throw shooting, hitting 85.0 percent of her chances.
As a team, the Terriers are shooting 39.3 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from three-point range, and 70.5 percent from the free throw line. B.U. has been outrebounded, 34.9-38.5, but has averaged 10.9 steals a contest, compared to 8.2 steals for their opponents.
9-3 IN LAST 12 GAMES
After going 2-8 in their first 10 games and 7-11 in their first 18 games, the Terriers have gone 9-3 in their last 12 games to improve to 16-14 on the season. During the 12-game stretch, Katie Terhune has the led the Terriers in scoring, averaging 17.0 points a game. Terhune has also contributed 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 42.9 percent from three-point range and 82.2 percent from the free throw line.
As a team, the Terriers are outscoring their opponents, 66.3-59.3, while shooting 42.6 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from three-point range, and 72.5 percent from the free throw line.
COMMON FOE
Boston University and UConn have had one common foe this season, the University of South Florida. The Huskies defeated the Bulls, 72-56, on Dec. 28. Two days later, the Bulls dropped the Terriers, 85-69, on Dec. 30.
AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD
During the 2002-03 regular-season, Boston University faced three teams participating in this season?s NCAA Tourney.
The Terriers hosted Vanderbilt in their season-opener, falling 68-51, on Nov. 23. The Terriers led 23-22 at the break, holding Player of the Year candidate Chantelle Anderson to just two points off 1-of-5 shooting. Anderson finished with 13 points and Jenni Benningfield scored a team-high 16 points for the Commodores. Katie Terhune led the Terriers with 20 points.
The Terriers rallied from a 27-point second-half deficit to pull within two with eight seconds remaining, but fell 78-74 at home against Harvard on Nov. 26.
Against Stanford on Dec. 21, Terhune scored a game-high 19 points but the Cardinal outrebounded the Terriers, 46-30, and fought for a 69-55 victory.
SIX WITH 200
For just the second time in program history, six Terriers have scored 200 or more points in a season. Alison Argentieri?s 17-point performance against Vermont in the AE Semifinals on March 14 gave the Terriers their sixth 200-point scorer. Along with Argentieri (222), Katie Terhune (518), Katie Meinhardt (292), Adrienne Norris (246), Larissa Parr (242), and Marisa Moseley (214) have all scored over 200 points this season.
The only other time six Terriers scored 200 points in a season was in 1986-87 when Andrea Aschuck led the six with 384 points.
FAMILY AFFAIR FOR WOLFF
Husky guard Nicole Wolff is the daughter of B.U. men?s basketball coach Dennis Wolff. The 2002-03 America East Men?s Basketball Coach of the Year, Dennis guided B.U. to an 18-9 regular-season mark that earned the Terriers the AE regular-season title. The Terriers reached the AE Championship final before bowing to Vermont, 56-55, on March 15. The Terriers earned a bid to the NIT Tournament and played St. John?s University on Wednesday, March 19.
TERRIERS ON TARGET FROM LONG RANGE IN AE TOURNEY
Although much of the success at the AE Tournament may be credited to the Terriers? tenacious defense, B.U.?s three-point shooting served as the Terriers most reliable offensive threat.
For the Tournament, the Terriers hit 18-of-36 attempts (50.0%).
Katie Meinhardt made 6-of-9 from three-point range during the tourney, hitting 66.6 percent of her chances.
In 2002-03, the Terriers made a program-record 142 three-pointers. The 142 bests the previous record of 141 set during the 1995-96 season.
ARGENTIERI, MEINHARDT SHINE AT THE LINE
With two of the three AE Tournament games won by four points on less, free throws were key in the Terriers? success. The Terriers hit 44-of-61 (72.1%) from the line, including a 15-for-18 performance in the 55-53 quarterfinal win over Northeastern.
Alison Argentieri and Katie Meinhardt were clutch in the three wins. Argentieri hit all 10 of her chances, including four in the title game. Meinhardt hit 9-of-10 during the tourney, including 5-of-6 in the finals.
On the season, the Terriers have sunk 437-of-618 from the line for a 70.7 free throw shooting percentage.
MCKEON CLINCHES BACK-TO-BACK WINNING SEASONS
For the first time in Margaret McKeon?s four-year head coaching career -- and for the first time since the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons -- the B.U. women?s basketball team has compiled back-to-back winning seasons. McKeon and the Terriers enter the NCAA Tourney with a 16-14 overall record, while last season B.U. finished with a 17-11 mark.
In the three years prior to McKeon?s hiring, the Terriers totaled 20 wins, averaging less than seven wins a season. In her four seasons at B.U., McKeon?s squads have reached the 10-win mark three times, including 17 wins last season, which was the most for a B.U. team since 1994-95 (18 wins).
Under McKeon, the Terriers have averaged nearly 13 wins a season.
In conference play, the turnaround is even greater. In the year before McKeon?s arrival, the Terriers won just two America East contests. She raised that total to three in her first year, six in her second, and 10 in each of the last two seasons.
The Terriers? America East Championship was their first since 1989 and third in program history.
WATCH OUT RIPKEN
The Terriers have two ironwomen on the roster in Marisa Moseley and Katie Terhune. The two juniors started all 30 games in 2002-03.
Terhune logs a team-high 31.5 minutes per game for the Terriers.
Moseley has the longest consecutive starts string for the team. The 6-foot-2 forward has started 33 straight games dating back to last season.
Sophomores Larissa Parr and Adrienne Norris have the longest consecutive games played streaks. The two have played in all 58 games since their first game as freshmen against South Florida on Nov. 17, 2001.
