March 14, 2008

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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The third-seeded Boston University women's basketball team (19-11) will take on second-seeded Vermont (23-7) on Saturday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the America East tournament semifinals. The Terriers are riding a five-game win streak into the showdown, while the Catamounts have won nine straight. The game will be televised on NESN.

2008 Championship Schedule
at Hartford's Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion
First Round: Thursday, March 13
Gm 1 - #9 Stony Brook 64, #8 Maine, 58
Quarterfinals: Friday, March 14
Gm 2 - #2 Vermont 70, #7 New Hampshire 45
Gm 3 - #3 Boston University 88, #6 UMBC 59
Gm 4 - #1 Hartford 72, #9 Stony Brook 41
Gm 5 - #5 Binghamton vs. #4 Albany
Semifinals: Saturday, March 15
Gm 6 - #1 Hartford vs. Gm 5 winner, 5:00 p.m., NESN
Gm 7 - #2 Vermont vs. #3 Boston University, 7:00 p.m., NESN
Title Game: Sunday, March 16
Gm 8 - Gm 6 winner vs. Gm 7 winner, 5:00 p.m., CSN

THE TERRIERS: The Terriers' depth on the offensive front has been vital to their success this season. Junior Jesyka Burks-Wiley, senior Cheri Raffo and senior Kasey Devine lead with 13.1, 10.7 and 10.4 ppg, respectively, followed by three additional players averaging at least eight points per game. Junior Christine Kinneary has reached double figures in seven of the last nine games and broke the BU single-season assist record in Friday's game against UMBC. The record now stands at 210.

Burks-Wiley is the team's leading rebounder with 5.8 per game, followed by Devine and sophomore Aly Hinton with 5.4 pg. Devine has also blocked 57 shots this season, ranking third all-time in a single season at BU, to bring her career total to 152 - second all-time.

BU vs. UVM: The Terriers and Catamounts have met a combined 59 times. It is tied for the second-oldest rivalry in BU's program history with UNH, and behind only Maine (62 contests). BU leads the series, 31-28, and has won 10 of the last 13 contests. The series began on Nov. 29, 1978 in a 75-53 BU victory. The Terriers rattled off 16 straight wins in the series - going undefeated in the 1980s - before succumbing to Vermont for the first time on Feb. 3, 1990 by a 66-52 margin. The Catamounts made it two in a row with a victory on Jan. 19, 1991, 71-67, before the Terriers split the season series that year with a 54-53 decision. Vermont strung together six consecutive victories from Jan. 18, 1992 to Jan. 15, 1994. During the mid-1990s both teams traded wins, however, on March 3, 1996, Vermont began a streak of 15 consecutive wins that would be its longest in the series history.

BU in AE TOURNEY: The Terriers own a 24-20 all-time record in the America East Championships and have made appearances in four of the last five title games, including a Cinderella-run to the championship as an eight seed in 2003. Under head coach Kelly Greenberg, BU is 6-3 in post-season AE play.

As a No. 3 seed, the Terriers are 11-4 all-time and 6-4 against second-seeded teams. In the semifinals, BU owns an 8-4 overall record. Against Vermont, BU is 4-1.

RAFFO ALL-TIME MINUTES LEADER: Senior Cheri Raffo has been a mainstay in the Terriers' lineup since she first set foot on campus. In 121 consecutive starts, the New Jersey native has amassed 3,704 minutes in the scarlet and white, ranking first all-time.

She is also the all-time leader in games played (121).

KINNEARY BREAKS 27-YEAR OLD RECORD: Junior Christine Kinneary broke a 27-year-old single-season assist record, previously set by Debbie Miller in 1980-81, when she handed out eight assists against UMBC on Friday, bringing her season total to 210.