Boston College Athletics
Women's Basketball Takes on Holy Cross
June 21, 1999 | Women's Basketball
November 19, 1998
BOSTON COLLEGE (1-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. HOLY CROSS (1-0, 0-0 Patriot League)DATE: Thursday, November 19, 1998 TIME: 7:00 p.m. SITE: Worcester, Massachusetts ARENA: Hart Center (3,600)
RECORDS: Both teams enter tonight's game with 1-0 records. Boston College defeated the University of Massachusetts (72-66) in the season-opener on November 16. Holy Cross also comes into tonight's game with a 1-0 record. The Crusaders opened the 1998-99 season with a 75-52 win at Siena on November 16.
COACHES: Cathy Inglese (Southern Connecticut '80), currently in her sixth season at Boston College, has a record of 65-73 with the Eagles. Inglese's overall coaching record is 185-147 in 12 years. She is assisted by Pam Borton, Kelly Cole, and Bill Gould. Bill Gibbons (Clark '81) is currently in his 14th season as the head coach at Holy Cross, where he has led the Crusaders to a 269-117 record. He is assisted by Kelly Greenberg and Catherine DiGiacinto.
EAGLES vs. CRUSADERS: Tonight's game will mark the 20th meeting between Boston College and Holy Cross. The Eagles lead the all-time series, 11-8, but Holy Cross has won the last two times that the teams have played. Boston College's last win in the series was on November 29, 1995, when the Eagles defeated the Crusaders, 65-57, at Conte Forum. Cathy Inglese is 3-2 against Holy Cross. The Eagles have a 13-9 overall record against teams from the Patriot League.
LAST YEAR: A year ago, Holy Cross defeated Boston College, 80-68, at Conte Forum on December 9, 1997. Junior Amy O'Brien led the Crusaders with 23 points and 15 rebounds, as four players scored in double figures for Holy Cross. The loss was the first of the season for the Eagles at home, and it marked the second consecutive victory for the Crusaders in the series. Holy Cross jumped out early, and built leads of 11-4, 13-8, and 22-17, but Boston College rallied to take a 30-29 lead after a Cal Bouchard jumper and two free throws by Alissa Murphy. Junior center Whitney Steele scored 14 points (7-10 FG) in the first half. O'Brien's jumper with 1:28 left in the first half gave Holy Cross a 36-35 lead at halftime.
The Crusaders opened the second half with a 9-3 run, but Boston College battled back to tie the score at 45-45 on a Paula Bacso layup with 14:27 remaining in the game. Holy Cross went on an 18-8 run and the Eagles were unable to close the gap. The Crusaders connected on 14 free throws in the final three minutes of the game to add to their lead and secure the victory. Steele led Boston College with 25 points and nine rebounds and Murphy added 15 points and seven rebounds.
SEASON OPENER: Boston College opened the 1998-99 season with a 72-66 victory over the University of Massachusetts on November 16, at Conte Forum. Four players scored in double figures to lead the Eagles to victory. Cal Bouchard was the team's leading scorer with 17 points, including four three-point field goals, and seven rebounds. Senior center Whitney Steele and Alissa Murphy each netted 15 points for the Eagles, and sophomore guard Danielle O'Banion provided a spark off the bench scoring 10 points. Freshman Brianne Stepherson started at point guard for Boston College and finished with nine points and two assists. The Minutewomen were led by Tez Kraft and Kelly Van Huisen's 18 point-efforts. Massachusetts' record dropped to 1-1 overall with the loss.
The Eagles had a six-point lead in the final minute of the first half, but Van Huisen's three-point field goal in the closing seconds narrowed the score to 33-30 at halftime. Massachusetts opened the second half with a 9-2 run, and the Minutewomen extended their lead to seven points with 13 minutes remaining in the game. Boston College rallied and Murphy's three-point field goal gave the Eagles a 51-49 lead with 8:56 left. Massachusetts narrowed the Eagles' five point lead to 69-66, but Boston College connected on three-of-four free throws in the final 12 seconds to secure the Boston College win. Boston College is 17-10 in season openers (home openers: 12-5 ; away openers: 5-3; neutral openers: 0-2). The Eagle's last season-opening defeat was at the Reebok Classic on November 24, 1996, when the Eagles lost to Connecticut, 76-38, at the FleetCenter.
EXHIBITION ACTION: Despite a 31-point effort by junior guard Cal Bouchard, Boston College lost to the Russian Select team, 93-84, on November 4 at Conte Forum, in the opening exhibition game of the 1998-99 season. The Russian Select team jumped out to a 25-17 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half, but the Eagles rallied and led 42-40 at halftime. Boston College held a slim lead until the 7:48 mark when Maria Stepanova's free throw gave the Russian Select team a 67-66 lead. The visitors increased their lead to 13 points late in the game. Senior center Whitney Steele added 18 points for the Eagles, connecting on nine-for-14 attempts.
Boston College won its second exhibition game of the season, defeating the Lithuanian Select team, 99-68, on November 12, at Conte Forum. Junior Alissa Murphy scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Eagles. Boston College jumped out front early and led the visitors, 33-8, with 10 minutes left in the first half. The Eagles led 52-29 at halftime, and the Lithuanian team shot only 24 percent from the field. Sophomore Jamie Cournoyer led the Eagles in scoring in the first half with 13 points. Boston College opened the second half with a 14-5 run and increased its lead to 68-34. The Eagles' lead never fell below 30 points for the remainder of the game, and the Eagles shot over 60 percent from the field. Freshman Brianne Stepherson netted 15 points and handed out eight assists in her second start of the season, and freshman Becky Gottstein added 12 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Danielle O'Banion scored 10 points for BC.
FOURTH IN BIG EAST POLL: The Boston College women's basketball team was selected to finish fourth in the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. The University of Connecticut was selected to finish first in the league, followed by Rutgers University, Notre Dame, and the Eagles.
1998-99 BIG EAST Coaches' Preseason Poll
1. Connecticut (9) 141
2. Rutgers (4) 136
3. Notre Dame 120
4. Boston College 108
5. Villanova 95
6. Miami 83
7. Georgetown 68
8. Syracuse 63
West Virginia 63
10. Providence 48
11. St. John's 32
12. Seton Hall 30
13. Pittsburgh 26
( ) First Place votes
PRE-SEASON HONORS: Cal Bouchard was named to the preseason All-BIG EAST First Team and Whitney Steele earned preseason All-BIG EAST second team honors in a vote of the league's head coaches. An All-BIG EAST First Team selection a year ago, Bouchard led the team in scoring with an average of 16.0 points per game. The junior guard earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors twice last season. Bouchard led the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage and finished 11th in the nation (45.1), connecting on 55-of-122 attempts. Steele earned All-BIG EAST Third Team honors a year ago. The senior center led the Eagles in rebounding with an average of 6.0, and was second on the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game. Steele scored in double figures in 23 games and was sixth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage, connecting on 48.1 percent (164-341) from the field.
1998-99 Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team
Name Cl. Pos. Team Svetlana Abrosimova So. F Connecticut Cal Bouchard Jr. G Boston College Kym Hope Sr. F/C Miami Tasha Pointer So. G Rutgers Tomora Young Sr. G Rutgers
1998-99 Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team
Name Cl. Pos. Team Sheila McMillen Sr. G Notre Dame Ruth Riley So. C Notre Dame Paige Sauer Jr. C Connecticut Whitney Steele Sr. C Boston College Sylita Thomas Sr. F Georgetown
HEAD COACH CATHY INGLESE: Head coach Cathy Inglese is currently in her sixth season at the helm of the Boston College women's basketball program. Inglese arrived at Boston College in 1993 after serving as the head coach at the University of Vermont for seven seasons. In five seasons she has registered a record of 65-73, and has a career record of 185-147. During her stint at Vermont, she became the winningest college basketball coach in the nation over the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. Inglese's teams were undefeated in regular-season play in both 1991-92 (29-0) and 1992-93 (28-0), and became the only Division I men's or women's team to have back-to-back perfect records. She earned District I Coach of the Year and North Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, and was a National Coach of the Year finalist all three years. A 1980 magna cum laude graduate of Southern Connecticut State College, Inglese was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.
Inglese's Record
Boston College Record (6 Years) 65-73 Career Record (13 Years) 185-147 BIG EAST Regular Season Record (5 Years) 43-47 BIG EAST Tournament Record (5 Years) 2-5 BIG EAST Overall Record (5 Years) 45-52 NCAA Record (2 appearances) 0-2
EAGLE EXPERIENCE: The Eagles return three starters (Cal Bouchard, Paula Bacso, and Whitney Steele), including two All-BIG EAST Conference selections, from last year's team that finished with a 17-11 overall record and an 11-7 league mark. The Eagles lost only two players from a team that led the nation in three-point field goal percentage (41 percent, 119-290) and finished sixth in free throw percentage (75.2 percent, 466-620) a year ago. Bouchard was named to the All-BIG EAST First-Team and Steele earned All-BIG EAST Third-Team honors.
NEWCOMERS: The addition of four talented freshmen to the Boston College women's basketball roster complements the group of returning veteran players. Freshman Brianne Stepherson has made an immediate impact, starting at point guard against Massachusetts and in both exhibition games. In the win over Massachusetts, she netted nine points and added two assists. Stepherson was named to the WBCA/Nike All-America team and was selected as the Gatorade New England Regional Player of the Year in 1998. Becky Gottstein contributed in the Eagles' frontcourt against the Minutewomen, netting two points and pulling down seven rebounds in 23 minutes. Nicole Conway, a Street & Smith All-America honorable mention selection in 1998, will contribute in the backcourt. Conway played 10 minutes in both exhibition games and scored four INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES: Cal Bouchard and Alissa Murphy gained international playing experience this past summer. Bouchard competed for the second consecutive year as a member of the Canadian National Team. Murphy represented Boston College on the 1998 BIG EAST/Nike All-Star Team that toured Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic (May 28-June 7).
REEBOK CLASSIC: For the fourth consecutive year, Boston College will participate in the annual Reebok Classic, held at the FleetCenter on Sunday, November 22. The first game will feature Florida and George Washington playing at 1:00 p.m. Boston College will play Michigan State in the second contest at 3:00 p.m. In last year's Classic, Boston College defeated No. 25 Texas, 82-68, and Arkansas defeated No. 11 Iowa, 83-57.
Reebok Classic Pairings
Game #1: Florida vs. George Washington (1:00 p.m.)
Game #2: Boston College vs. Michigan State (3:00 p.m.)
