Boston College Athletics
No. 25 Eagles hold off Orangewomen 76-62
June 21, 1999 | Women's Basketball
January 5, 1999
CHESTNUT HILL, MA -- In its first appearance as a nationally ranked team, No. 25 Boston College used a career-high 20 points from junior Alissa Murphy (San Diego, CA) to capture a 76-62 win over Syracuse. The Eagles (11-1, 3-1 in the BIG EAST) improved their winning streak to five games. Syracuse fell to 4-8 overall, 0-4 in the conference.
Freshman Becky Gottstein (Albany, NY) tallied her second consecutive double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Junior guard Cal Bouchard (Aurora, Ontario) and senior center Whitney Steele (Harrington Park, NJ) each added 14 points for the Eagles.
Syracuse played a tough first half, matching the Eagles shot for shot. The Orangewomen led 19-18 with 8:30 left in the first half. Their final lead of the game came at the 6:30 mark in the first period, as Jamie James three-pointer gave Syracuse a 25-24 lead. Steeles lay-up gave Boston College a 26-25 advantage, a lead they would not relinquish. The Eagles increased their lead to as much as 11, leading 43-32 with 1:11 left in the first period. The two teams entered the locker room with B.C. up 43-34.
In the second half, Syracuse scored the first five points to cut the Eagle lead to 43-39. But Boston College went on a 14-4 run to take a 57-43 advantage with 9:42 left in the game. Syracuse cut the deficit to 61-56 with 5:01 left, but were never able to overtake Boston College, as Bouchard nailed two three pointers and two free throws within the final four minutes to seal the victory.
The win marked the second victory for the Eagles on their four game homestand. Boston Colleges next game is a 7:00 pm showdown against Seton Hall on Thursday, January 7.
