Jan. 21, 2008

Listen Live | Gametracker | Game Notes

BOSTON - The Boston University women's basketball team (9-7, 2-1 AE) will travel north to Orono, Maine on Wednesday, Jan. 23 to take on Maine (4-13, 1-3 AE) at 7:30 p.m. The Black Bears lead the all-time series, 39-21. The Terriers enter the game fresh off a commanding 89-40 win over Stony Brook, while Maine will be looking to end a three-game skid.

The series between BU and Maine dates back to the 1977-78 season, when the Terriers defeated the Black Bears, 66-54. BU won the first five games, before suffering four consecutive setbacks. Throughout the late `80s the teams traded wins, before Maine surged as a program in the `90s. From Jan. 24, 1990 to Dec. 11, 1999, the Black Bears won 18-of-23 games, during which time they picked up six conference championships and made six NCAA Tournament appearances. Over the past eight seasons, Maine has taken 12-of-18 games, however recently BU has won three of the last five meetings. In 2006-07, the Terriers and Black Bears split the season series, with BU taking the most recent meeting 63-61 on Feb. 17 at Case Gym.

Most recently, the Black Bears dropped a 56-38 decision to Hartford. Sophomore Amanda Tewksbury scored a team-high 11 points and 10 rebounds to earn her first career double-double. Tewksbury has now led the squad in scoring in four games this season. She also sparked the offense against Stony Brook, helping the Black Bears rally from a 15-point first-half deficit to take a 35-34 lead in the second half, however, their comeback proved short-lived as the Seawolves went on to take the contest, 72-65.

Tanna Ross leads the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game with Brittany Boser close behind with 9.4 ppg, however Tewksbury has surged in conference play with an average of 9.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg in America East action. Sandra Vaitkute has also progressed in league play with 11.0 rpg.

Junior Jesyka Burks-Wiley averages 14.7 ppg and 7.5 rpg to lead in the squad in both categories. She is shooting .438 from the floor and .358 from behind the arc. Classmate Christine Kinneary is the team's assist lead with 7.25 per game. She leads the conference in that category and is sixth in the country. In addition, Kinneary has been careful with the ball and minimized her turnovers to land 13th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.26).

As a squad, the Terriers rank in the top 15 in the nation in three different categories. BU has been impressive from the free throw line shooting .796 from the charity stripe to land fifth nationally. In addition, only eight teams have held on to the ball better than the Terriers as they average just 14.1 turnovers per game. Going hand in hand with that, they are 14th in assist/turnover ratio (1.07).

In most recent conference action, Burks-Wiley and Kinneary each recorded double-doubles, as the BU cruised to an 89-40 victory over Stony Brook on Saturday. Burks-Wiley led all scorers with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Kinneary posted 11 points and dished out 10 assists. The Terriers featured six players in double figures and led by as many as 56 points in the contest. BU shot 48 percent for the game. It out-rebounded the Seawolves by a 61-39 margin, marking the first time since Nov. 17, 2001 when a Terrier squad brought down 60 or more boards. The Terriers capitalized on 21 SBU miscues to score 24 points off turnovers. They also posted 24 points on second-chance points and 42 in the paint. By the end of the first half, BU held a commanding 54-19 advantage - its largest lead at the break this season. The 54-point performance in the first period was also a season high for the squad.

Next time out the Terriers will travel to UNH for a Noon game on Saturday, Jan. 26.