Women’s Basketball: Williams to Miss Saturday’s Game with Concussion

By: Andrew Mason

The Terriers are without senior Corrine Williams on Saturday against Holy Cross, as a concussion keeps the senior out of BU’s lineup for the first time all season.

Williams is a co-captain averaging 8.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. She also plays 30 minutes per contest, second most on the Terriers (9-13, 4-8 in Patriot League).

The head injury occurred during the first defensive possession of the scarlet and white’s victory over Colgate on Wednesday, when Raider Tegan Graham drove to the baseline where she picked up her dribble, teetering over the out-of-bounds line.

“I started to back up because I thought the ref was going to call ‘out-of-bounds’,” Williams recalled. “[Graham] tried to keep the ball in play and launched it right into my face.”

Williams, who remained in the game for a total of six minutes, felt a headache immediately after the incident, she said. As she tried to battle through the injury, the senior began to recognize her reaction time and vision of the game slow down beyond the norm.

“My headache got worse so once the media [timeout] hit I knew I needed to come out,” she said.

Williams said she was placed in concussion protocol by the team trainer early Thursday morning. Friday she began day 1 of a five day recovery period and she hopes to play on Wednesday against American. 

In the meantime, the Terriers have to find a way to win without one of their most vocal leaders on the floor. With Williams sidelined for the majority of the game against Colgate, freshman Tenisha Pressley stepped up and added valuable minutes, notching 10 points to go with four steals and four assists in a season-high 36 minutes of action.

Head Coach Katy Steding recognized the benefit of having players who can step up when a teammate goes down.

“I think you ride that momentum and stay positive,” Steding said after Wednesday’s win. “People are going to have to continue to grow.”

BU tips-off against the Crusaders of Holy Cross (10-13, 5-7 Patriot League) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 as part of the annual Turnpike Trophy tournament. The Terriers fell to Holy Cross 60-57 in mid-January inside Case Gym, but have won two of the last three meetings with the Crusaders.