Game Notes | Listen Live

The Boston University women's basketball team will wrap up its three-game homestand and also close the book on the first half of the America East season when it welcomes New Hampshire to Case Gym on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY: BU has won six of its past seven contests against UNH, including four straight, and trails by the slimmest of margins, 26-25, in the all-time series. The two teams played each other in last year’s regular-season finale at Case Gym, with the Terriers’ using a game-high 24 points from senior Becky Bonner to post a 77-67 victory.

HOME, SWEET HOME: Dating back to last season’s home finale, the Terriers have won seven consecutive home games, including six consecutive contests at The Roof. The 6-0 start to this year’s home slate is the program’s best since the 1994-95 campaign, when the Terriers were victorious in their first nine outings, matching the record originally set by the 1986-87 squad. 

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: After starting out the season 9-2, New Hampshire (11-7, 3-4) has dropped five of its last seven contests and is 0-3 in America East road games. The Wildcats’ league victories have come at home against UMBC, Maine and Vermont. 
   Junior Danielle Clark leads the Wildcats in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg) and her scoring average ranks fourth among America East players. Classmate Ray Williams has enjoyed a breakout season off the bench, averaging 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest, and her field-goal percentage of .634 ranks second in the conference. Senior Lindsay Adams and junior Whitney Edwards are each contributing 7.6 points per game and Edwards’ averages of 2.1 steals and 3.5 assists rank fourth and fifth in the league, respectively.
   Sue Johnson is in her ninth season at the helm of the UNH program and has compiled an overall record of 121-124 with the Wildcats.

FOUR SCORE: The Terriers are one of just 19 teams across the country to currently have four players with double-digit scoring averages. Junior Katie Meinhardt leads the way with 11.5 points per game and sophomore Cheri Raffo is right behind at 11.4  BU’s scoring production has also been boosted by senior Rachael Vanderwal and junior Erica Kovach, who are averaging 10.8 and 10.6 points per contest, respectively. All four Terriers are ranked in the top 20 in scoring among America East players.

TWICE AS NICE: Freshman Jesyka Burks-Wiley earned her second America East Rookie of the Week honor on Monday. The forward made the most of her first career start, recording her first ever double-double with career highs of 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in the 69-52 win over Albany. The rookie has stepped up her play against league opponents, averaging 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per America East game. During the seven contests, she has gone 18-of-38 (.474) from the floor, including an exceptional 17-of-29 (.586) from inside the arc. 

AE HOME STREAK SNAPPED: Until UMBC’s surprising 70-48 victory at Stony Brook on Sunday, home teams had won 10 consecutive America East games, dating back to Jan. 21.

EARNING THEIR (CHARITY) STRIPES: Today’s match-up features the top two free-throw shooting teams in America East play this season. UNH boasts a league-best 77.9 free-throw percentage against conference opponents, while BU ranks second at 74 percent.

TERRIERS DOWN MAINE AT AGGANIS: Senior co-captain Rachael Vanderwal led four Terriers in double figures with 17 points, helping BU coast to a 80-61 victory on Sunday at Agganis Arena. The Terriers never trailed in the contest and coasted to their third straight double-digit victory, ending an eight-game regular-season losing skid to Maine. BU has won its last three games by an average of 18.7 points.
   Vanderwal, who was playing in her 100th career game, scored in double figure for the fourth straight contest and added a game-high nine rebounds. She was joined by juniors Erica Kovach and Katie Meinhardt, who had 14 apiece, and freshman Christine Kinneary, who had a career-high 11 points.

SEVENTH HEAVEN: Vanderwal moved to seventh all-time in career assists at BU after recording six in the Terriers’ win at Vermont on Jan. 21. Vanderwal passed Julie Schmidt ‘96 and with her current total of 314 assists, she is just three helpers away from tying Mary O’Connor ‘84 for the sixth most in school history. The senior co-captain is averaging a league-best 5.0 assists per game during conference play.

RELIABLE RAFFO: Sophomore guard Cheri Raffo has developed into one of BU’s most potent offensive threats, averaging 11.4 points per game this season, good for second on the team. Raffo set a career high with a 20-point effort against Indiana on Dec. 10 and matched that total in the Terriers’ triumph at Vermont on Jan. 21. She has started in all of BU’s 49 games since her arrival last year.

ON THE MARK: In conference play, BU leads the America East in scoring, averaging 72.1 points per outing, and its field-goal (.416) and free-throw (.730) percentages against league opponents rank third and second, respectively.

CLEANING GLASS: Sophomore Kasey Devine hauled in 17 rebounds in BU’s win over Albany on Jan. 24, the highest single-game total by a Terrier in nearly 11 years. Alicia Charles ‘98 corralled 18 rebounds against Northeastern on March 1, 1995. Combined with Burks-Wiley’s 15 rebounds, the two totaled 32 boards on the day, the most by a BU duo since Lynne Ranando ‘90 (22) and Renee Doctor ‘90 (12) combined for 34 rebounds in a win over New Hampshire on Jan. 27, 1990.

SIMPLY DEVINE: Sophomore forward Kasey Devine has become a strong contributor from the post for the Terriers in her first season as a starter. In addition to her scoring average of 7.6 points per game, she ranks fourth in the conference in rebounds (7.5 rpg). Devine has also excelled at the charity stripe, where her 81.7 percentage ranks third among America East players. She is second the league in blocked shots with an average of 2.17 per game. Devine has recorded two double-doubles this seasons and she has posted 10 or more rebounds or five occasions.

NEXT UP: The Terriers will hit the road to face Albany on Saturday, Feb. 4, in the Terriers’ lone regular-season appearance on America East TV. Game time is set for 5 p.m. BU posted a 69-52 home victory over the Great Danes last Tuesday.