The BU women’s basketball team celebrating a thrilling 60-58 win over UMass Lowell on November 6. Caitlin Weimar (COM’24), the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, hit the winning buzzer-beater. Photo by Jon Ratner

Basketball

Women’s Basketball Shoots to Top Last Season’s Near-Championship

After buzzer-beating victory Monday, Terriers host New Hampshire at Case Gym tonight

Fueled by confidence after an outstanding 2022-2023 campaign, albeit one that ended in heartbreak, the BU women’s basketball team heads into this season with a mix of young talent and veteran star power, along with a sizable chip on their collective shoulder. 

Last year, the Terriers dominated the Patriot League regular season with a 17-1 conference record, but then lost a close game in the conference championship to Holy Cross at Case Gymnasium, costing them an automatic bid to the NCAA March Madness tournament. Now, with an established winning culture and playoff experience under their belts, the Terriers are looking to replicate that regular season success—but this time to finish it off with a title and trophy. 

Head coach Melissa Graves says last year’s run sets the precedent for this season. 

“It set the expectation for this program, and it is to be in that [conference championship] game,” Graves says. “Hopefully, we win the regular season and get the opportunity to host. But in any case, we want to get to that game and play there.” 

With a dramatic 60-58 win in the season opener against UMass Lowell at Case Gym on Monday, the Terriers are off to a strong start. The game was tied at 58 in the final seconds when star forward Caitlin Weimar (COM’24) called for the ball in the low post, spun toward the middle, and swished the game-winning hook shot just at the final buzzer, bringing her teammates rushing onto the floor to mob her.

Weimar is one of five returners from last year’s team, but the Terriers also have eight newcomers on the roster. 

“We’re young, but with the energy that especially the freshmen bring, it’s really great to be in the gym with them,” Graves says. “Obviously, there’s a lot of learning going on, and we have to reteach a lot of things. But I think the five returners are doing a really good job leading and kind of showing what our expectations are.”

Weimar, a 6-foot-4 forward, was named Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. She averaged 15.5 points and 10 rebounds per game last season, becoming the second player in program history to average a double-double. She transferred to BU from Marist before the 2021-2022 season, and was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year last year after posting 1.9 blocks per game. 

“Obviously she’s very skilled, but she’s playing very confidently,” Graves says. “Her earning the respect of the conference with Preseason Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year is huge. Some of those things can get to pressure a kid a little bit and get in their head a little bit, but it hasn’t thus far. She’s been playing great in our scrimmages. She’s been having really consistent practices.” 

With BU losing several key players—star guard Sydney Johnson (CAS’23) and center Maren Durant (Sargent’23) among them—Weimar is ready to step into a new role as the clear engine to the Terriers’ success. 

“Last year, [Weimar] had Sydney, she had Maren, she had some other players around her, All-Conference kids who were able to help out. Now, we still have a lot of talent, they’re just young,” the coach says. “But now her mentality is like, ‘when I get it, I’m scoring it.’ She knows she’s our ‘it’ person.” 

The Terriers also return Alex Giannaros (Wheelock’25), a sharpshooting guard who averaged more than 10 points per game last year. She also led the nation in three-point percentage, shooting the long ball at a red-hot 52 percent, close to four attempts per game. She’ll be BU’s most seasoned player in the backcourt, given Johnson’s departure. 

Giannaros expects the team to assume a fast-paced identity that can capitalize on transition opportunities. “I think when we play fast, it’s a lot of fun,” Giannaros says. “Using our defense to fuel our offense. When that happens, I definitely think we’re a good-looking team.” 

Graves says the team has focused on playing like “D.A.W.G.S”: attitude, will to win, grit, and sacrifice. “We’ve been working a lot on those things,” she says. “As far as that goes, what does the sacrifice look like in that piece? What does the discipline look like? What is the attention to detail? For this team, what they want to be and what they want to accomplish is to be a ‘dawg.’”

The highlight of BU’s non-conference slate is a trip to Colorado—the Terriers will play the University of Northern Colorado on November 26 and nationally ranked University of Colorado Boulder on November 28. They will also face local rivals Harvard (December 9 at Case Gym) and Northeastern (December 22 at Matthews Arena) before the calendar flips to 2024. The Terriers Patriot League schedule starts on January 3 when BU hosts Navy at Case Gym. 

“It’s obviously a very new team with the eight newcomers, but it’s going to be an exciting team and our style of play is going to be similar,” Graves says. “We’re going to play fast, play together, and share the basketball.” 

And the team is not shy about its lofty goals for the season: to return to the Patriot League title game, and avenge last year’s loss with a championship.

“That’s what we’re working towards all season,” Giannaros says. “Being able to use that loss as motivation to get us to where we want to be this year, and hopefully with a Patriot League championship.” 

The BU women’s basketball team hosts the University of New Hampshire Friday, November 10, at 5 pm at Case Gym. Tickets are free for students with a sports pass, $5 for faculty, staff, and students without a sports pass, and $8 for the general public. Fans can stream the action on ESPN+.