March 16, 2008

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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The third-seeded Boston University women's basketball team (20-11) will take on top-seeded Hartford (26-5) on Sunday, March 16 at 5:00 p.m. in the America East tournament title game. The Terriers are riding a six-game win streak into the contest and will be making their fifth appearance in six years, while the Hawks will be playing in their fourth straight championship game. The game will be televised on CSN with Eric Frede doing the play-by-play and Leah Secondo providing color analysis.

2008 Championship Schedule/Results
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 60, #4 Albany 40
Gm 7 - #3 Boston University 76, #2 Vermont 74 (2OT)
Title Game: Sunday, March 16
Gm 8 - #1 Hartford vs. #3 Boston University, 5:00 p.m. CSN

THE TERRIERS: BU picked up its 20th win of the season with its 76-74 double overtime victory versus Vermont on Saturday in the semifinals. It marked the second time in program history the Terriers have won 20 or more games and first time in 20 years.

Junior Jesyka Burks-Wiley leads three Terriers in double figures with 13.2 points per game. Senior Cheri Raffo is averaging 11.1 and classmate Kasey Devine is close behind with 10.3 ppg.

Burks-Wiley is also the team's leading rebounder with 5.8 pg.

BU vs. HARTFORD: The Terriers and Hawks have a long and storied history together, and in recent years the teams have only added to it, meeting in three of the last four conference championship games, which includes Sunday night's game.

BU leads by a slim 26-24 margin in the all-time history. Earlier this season, junior Kristi Dini's game-winning, half-court buzzer-beater lifted the Terriers over the Hawks, 62-60, in the conference opener and the Hawks responded with a 61-54 win at Chase Arena a month later.

The series began in the 1985-86 season when the Terriers rattled off 13 consecutive victories. Hartford earned its first win of the series on Feb. 2, 1991 - a 60-48 decision. The Hawks won the three of the next four games before BU put together a string of four straight wins. From Jan. 4, 1996 to Jan. 21, 2001, Hartford won 10-of-11 games. The Terriers started the 2000's winning 7-of-11 contests; however, in recent history, the Hawks have has become a power in the conference and taken the past nine out of 10 meetings with the Terriers.

LAST TIME OUT VS. HARTFORD (Feb. 9, 2008): Junior Christine Kinneary led with a then-career-high 20 points, however, BU fell, 61-54, to Hartford at Chase Arena.

Kinneary was 9-for-16 from the floor, dished out two assists and earned three steals to earn AEt's Player of the Game honors, while classmate Jesyka Burks-Wiley was the other Terrier in double figures with 11 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Sophomore Aly Hinton was the team's leading rebounding with nine boards. BU shot 42.1 percent (24-for-57) for the game and out-rebounded the Hawks, 37-34; however, Hartford was 19-for-25 from the line, which made the difference in the final score.

BU was able to penetrate the Hartford defense out-scoring the hosts, 36-20, in the paint, while also posting 19 points off 15 turnovers. The Hawks' bench was able to notch 18 points off their bench.

LAST TIME OUT: BU VS. UVM (W, 76-74 (2OT)): BU battled Vermont into double overtime in the semifinals of the AE tourney and claimed a 76-74 victory to advance to its fifth title game in six years. Senior Cheri Raffo led on the offensive front with 22 points and juniors Amarachi Umez-Eronini and Jesyka Burks-Wiley added 18 and 17, respectively, as BU picked up its first twenty-win season in twenty years.

Raffo was 8-for-17 for 22 points and scored seven in the overtime period, while Burks-Wiley earned a game-high four steals. BU held the slight 34-32 edge in the paint, while UVM converted on 24 points off turnovers to BU's 15. Vermont owned the advantage in rebounding, 42-37.

BU in AE TOURNEY: The Terriers own a 25-20 all-time record in the America East Championships and have now made an appearance in five of the last six title games, including a Cinderella-run to the championship as an eight seed in 2003. Under head coach Kelly Greenberg, BU is 7-3 in post-season AE play.

As a No. 3 seed, the Terriers are 12-4 all-time and 2-7 against the top-seeded teams. In the finals, BU owns a 3-5 overall record. Against Hartford, BU is 1-2.