Feb. 26, 2008

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BOSTON - The Boston University women's basketball team aims to sweep the season series with New Hampshire when it hosts the Wildcats on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. The Terriers are coming off a 65-56 loss at Vermont, and UNH recently dropped its fourth straight game. Boston University is 14-11 overall and 7-5 in the America East, while New Hampshire is 6-19 overall and 3-8 in league play.

The series with the Wildcats is the fourth-oldest rivalry for the team. BU has won nine of the last 13 meetings; however, UNH holds a slim 29-28 advantage in the all-times series. The Terriers owned the first decade of the series, going 11-4 from Feb. 21, 1978 to Feb. 6, 1988, while the Wildcats won 11 of the next 15 meetings.

The last time the two teams met, sophomore Aly Hinton's layup with one second on the clock lifted BU over UNH, 77-75, on Saturday, Jan. 26. Hinton scored four points in the final 33 seconds of the game to help the Terriers earn the come-from-behind victory. The Terriers were down by as many as 11 late in the second half; however, a resilient BU side chipped away at the Wildcats' lead and with under a minute to go both teams traded baskets to move the score to 75-75. A UNH turnover at mid-court with 25 seconds remaining gave BU the opportunity for the last play of the game, and the Terriers seized on it. Hinton's initial shot was blocked by Ashley Cerniglia; however, the sophomore forward collected the rebound and put it back in for the game-winning shot.

UNH is currently riding a four-game losing streak and most recently dropped a 66-50 decision to UMBC on Feb. 23. A bright spot for the Wildcats has been the play of freshman Denise Beliveau, who recently picked up her fifth America East Rookie of the Week honor after posting 15 points, four steals and seven rebounds against Vermont and adding 16 points against UMBC. Beliveau is averaging 11.4 points per game in conference action, which is tied for second on the team. Ashley Cerniglia is leading the Wildcats' offense with 12.8 in league play. Beliveau is also the team's leading rebounder with 6.2 rpg.

The Terriers continue to remain among the nation's leaders in free throw percentage ranking ninth with a .780 percentage. They are 13th in fewest turnovers per game with 14.0 pg and accordingly rank 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.08). Junior point guard Christine Kinneary is seventh in assists per game (6.9 apg) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (2.42).

BU boasts the conference's most prolific offense with 68.8 points per game, while also being the top free throw shooting team (.780). In addition, the Terriers rank at the top in field goal percentage (.410), 3-point field goal percent defense (.282) and assist/turnover ratio (1.08).

Following today's game BU will travel to Stony Brook on Saturday, March 1 at 4:30 p.m.