Mid-Major Top-25 Teams, Hartford and Boston U, Battle As Part of 4 Games Saturday

W Basketball

Hartford's Nikkia Smith led the Hawks with 12 points in their America East opener.

Mid-Major Top-25 Teams, Hartford and Boston U, Battle As Part of 4 Games Saturday

Updated: January 04, 2013 9:01 am (ET)
by America East Communications

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Just a couple days removed from opening night, America East women's basketball teams hit the floor for another full slate of games on Saturday afternoon.

Three games tip at 2 p.m., including a battle between two teams ranked in the mid-major top-25. Hartford (9-5, 0-1), which is ranked No. 9 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25, hosts Boston University (11-3, 1-0), which is ranked No. 10. The Hawks are looking to bounce-back from a conference-opening loss at Binghamton Wednesday night. On the other side, Boston U. enters the game red hot, winning eight-straight contests as the Terriers are off to their best start under ninth-year head coach Kelly Greenberg.

Albany (10-3, 1-0) has also been on a roll and is coming off a historic offensive performance in its America East opening win over UMBC. The Great Danes scored 87 points, the most points scored in a conference game in almost three years. They travel to the Events Center to take on in-state rival Binghamton (2-12, 1-0) at 2 p.m. The Bearcats won their third-straight America East opener and snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Hartford Wednesday.

Maine (1-12, 0-0) opens its conference season at UMBC (4-10, 0-1). Maine is looking to stop a nine-game skid while UMBC has lost eight of its last 10.

The late game on Saturday features Stony Brook (8-6, 0-1) at New Hampshire (5-8, 0-1) at 4 p.m. in Durham, N.H. Both teams are coming off losses in their conference openers. Both teams have been strong defensively, allowing less than 57 points per game. The Wildcats' Cari Reed is the third-leading scorer in the conference, averaging 13.1 points per game.