With the return of a trio of All-Conference players this
season, the Boston University women's basketball team entered the season with
high expectations. However, with such a young core of players relied upon to
play key roles, the Terriers struggled against a difficult non-conference
schedule and entered America East play with more questions than answers.
As is the case with many teams, the Terriers found their
comfort zone with the familiarity of conference play. Boston University raced
out to a 10-0 start in America East play, with sophomore guard Chantell Alford
playing at an extraordinarily high level. While it may have seemed that Boston
U. was on its way to a regular season championship, a few more hurdles
interrupted that goal. Following the 10-0 start, the Terriers dropped four of
their final six games in conference, and saw UMBC emerge as the regular season
champion.
The trio of America East Player of the Year Chantell Alford,
junior guard Alex Young and junior forward Caroline Stewart entered the
conference tournament committed to winning a championship. After an excellent
defensive performance in a win over Vermont in the quarterfinal round, head
coach Kelly Greenberg and her team faced a resilient Binghamton squad in the
semifinals. After a hard-fought first half, Young caught fire in the final 20
minutes, as she netted a career-high 37 points to earn the Terriers a spot in
the title game.
For the fourth time since 2005, the Terriers will match-up
with Hartford with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line. However, this
tremendous rivalry will have a new wrinkle this season, as it will be Boston
University hosting the game at Case Gym. Needless to say, fans in attendance
will be treated to a great game between two tough and well-coached teams on
Saturday night.