Women’s Basketball: New Era of Terrier Basketball Kicks Off Tuesday

By Hannah Yoshinaga

Boston University women’s basketball is set to host its season opener Tuesday — and with new Head Coach Melissa Graves at the helm and four new players on the roster, plenty has changed since the Terriers last took the floor. 

After posting the second-best record in the conference last season, BU was just 10 points shy of its first ever Patriot League Championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003. However, with another year’s worth of playoff experience under their belt and even more motivation to bring a conference title back to Case, the Terriers begin their season with championship ambitions. 

Changing of the Guard  

In an offseason that involved major turnover throughout the BU women’s basketball program, the biggest change is arguably the hiring of Graves to replace previous Head Coach Marisa Moseley, who took a head coaching position at Wisconsin in March after leading BU to three straight playoff appearances. 

Graves joins BU after spending the past three years as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Wake Forest, which she helped lead to its first tournament appearance since 1988. She also previously served as an assistant for Yale and Patriot League foe Colgate. 

“It’s been pretty seamless,” Graves said of her transition into the program. “I’ve had a lot of support here with administration, the team has been great since day one, really getting to know them and just pouring into them.”  

Another notable change is at point guard, where the Terriers will play their first game without three-time All-Patriot League selection Katie Nelson on the roster since 2017. After receiving first-team honors and graduating in the spring, Nelson grad transferred to Wisconsin alongside Moseley. 

To replace Nelson and fellow 2021 graduates Tenisha Pressley and Mackenzie Miers, BU adds four players to the roster — freshmen Lauren Davenport, Corinne Washington and Alex Giannaros, along with sophomore transfer Caitlin Weimar. 

Guard Davenport was twiced named an all-conference first-team selection at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho. She was also a three-time captain, as well as defensive player of the year and all-area first team as a junior.  

Washington, a guard and forward from Sewickley, Pa., was an all-section, third-team all-state selection in Pennsylvania as a junior at Quaker Valley High School. She was also a three-year starter.   

Giannaros, another guard, hails from Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., where she was a two-time team captain. She was also named All-ISL and All-NEPSAC twice at Tabor. 

Forward Weimar transferred to BU from Marist after winning MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year and being named to the MAAC All-Rookie and All-Conference teams as a freshman in the 2020-21 season. Her .468 field goal percentage led the conference, and she started 19 of 20 games. 

“So I think they’ve been doing a really, really good job,” Graves said. “They’re all doing really well academically, which is really nice, getting in their study hall hours outside of basketball, enjoying life outside of basketball. We really try to support them off the floor with what they want to do.”

Outside of getting adjusted to life at BU, Graves is also pleased with their progress on the court. 

“On the floor, they’ve been doing a really good job as far as really working,” Graves added. “They’ve all come in to watch film, get enough extra shots, you know, those sorts of things. So I really feel like they’re trying to put in the extra work to try to compete for some playing time.”

Just Like New 

Since the Terriers’ summer session began in July, Graves has implemented three major changes — including speeding up their transition game, using fewer offensive sets, and moving the defense toward a more individualized approach. 

Graves said the team hopes to play significantly faster on the offensive end and replicate the faster style of play BU has opted for in the past to produce more easy buckets in transition. 

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the quicker offense could be junior guard Sydney Johnson, who earned the respect of defenders across the league the past two seasons for her ability to push the ball up the court quickly and generate assists. 

Graves also wants to utilize a read-and-react offense, encouraging players to play through and establish a flexible scoring flow. 

On the other end of the floor, she’s tasking the team with more one-on-one defense, a significant departure from the zone-heavy system Moseley installed the last three years. 

“I think what we’re really focusing on right now is working on the defensive end and really trying to just fix some of those mishaps,” Graves said. “They haven’t really played a lot of man-to-man in the past and that’s kind of the way we’re moving towards.” 

Bounce Back 

BU enters the season ranked as the second-best team in the Patriot League’s preseason poll. While players were excited about the poll, according to Graves, she said they will remain humble and continue to respect their opponents. 

“When I talked to the team when the poll came out, it was just, hey, this is great because you guys have done the work to get the respect of the league and the coaches,” Graves said, “but it doesn’t mean a lot if we don’t put in the work and get ready for this grind and have this mentality of respect all, fear none.”

Yet, she also feels confident in the experienced and versatile roster the Terriers have to offer. 

“With the addition of Caitlin [Weimar] as a transfer in the post, I think we’re in a really good position to probably have the best post players in the league,” Graves said. “So they’re excited about all these pieces.” 

Though the Terriers still carry a chip on their shoulder from last season’s disappointing end, they are using past frustrations as fuel to motivate this year’s playoff push. 

“It’s like, hey, we’re at the top now, now can we take it to the next level and bring a trophy home? So they’re excited about it, definitely.” 

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The Terriers face UMass Lowell Tuesday night at home with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

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