Boston College Athletics
No. 19 Eagles Host Pittsburgh
January 29, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2000
BOSTON COLLEGE (16-4, 5-1 BIG EAST)
(#19 Associated Press, #22 USA Today/ESPN)
vs. PITTSBURGH (12-6, 3-4 BIG EAST)
DATE: Saturday, January 29, 2000
TIME: 4:00 p.m.
SITE: Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
ARENA (Capacity): Silvio O. Conte Forum (8,606)
STORY LINE
Boston College enters Saturday's game against Pittsburgh with a 16-4 overall record and is ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. The Eagles lost at Connecticut (84-77) on January 26, snapping a 12-game winning streak, the longest in school history. Boston College is 5-1 in BIG EAST Conference action. Three of the Eagles' four losses were to ranked opponents. The 12-game winning streak that started on December 4 with an 83-70 victory over Kent State included eight victories at Conte Forum. Boston College won the State Farm Classic at Gainesville, Florida on December 29, 1999. The Eagles played six of their first seven games on the road, faced three teams ranked among the Top 25, and registered a 3-3 record.
SERIES HISTORY vs. PITTSBURGH: BC leads, 17-15
(BC in Series: Home: 11-5, Away 6-8, Neutral 0-2)
EAGLES vs. PANTHERS
Boston College and Pittsburgh have played 32 games, and the Eagles lead the series, 17-15. The Eagles have won six of the last seven games in the series, including both games played last season. In the first meeting a year ago at Pittsburgh, Boston College defeated the Panthers, 86-65, on February 13. The Eagles also won the second meeting at Chestnut Hill on February 23, defeating the Panthers on Senior Night, 72-66. Pittsburgh's last win in the series was on January 20, 1996, when the Panthers defeated the Eagles, 72-69, in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh enters Saturday's game with a 12-6 overall record and a 3-4 mark in BIG EAST Conference action. The Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Syracuse (80-66) on January 25. Two players are averaging double figures in scoring led by freshman forward Mandy Wittenmyer's 11.4 points per game. Junior guard Monique Toney is averaging 10.2 points per game. Wittenmyer is also Pittsburgh's leading rebounder with 7.6 per game. Traci Waites, currently in her second year as the head coach at Pittsburgh, has a career record of 20-25. Waites served as the head coach at Santa Monica Community College for two seasons.
LAST MEETING (2/23/99)
Alissa Murphy's nine points in the final four minutes led Boston College to a 72-66 victory over Pittsburgh at Conte Forum in the final regular season game on February 23, 1999. Four Boston College players scored in double figures to lead the Eagles to their school record 20th victory. The Eagles led Pittsburgh 33-28 at halftime after a seven point run in the final 2:10 of the half. Jamie Cournoyer scored eight points as the Eagles shot 45.5 percent and outrebounded the Panthers, 25-14.
Boston College increased its lead to nine points early in the second half, and led 42-33 at the 15:42 mark. Pittsburgh rallied with a 20-9 scoring run, and a three-point play by Nickeia Morris gave the Panthers a 57-55 advantage with 4:31 remaining. Murphy led Boston College as the Eagles outscored the Panthers 17-9 in the closing minutes. Pittsburgh would rally to cut the lead to 66-64 with :58 remaining, but a basket by Murphy, two free-throws by senior Paula Bacso, and two free-throws by Brianne Stepherson gave the Eagles the victory.
Murphy led the Eagles with 18 points and added eight rebounds, five assists, and one steal. Cournoyer finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in her third consecutive start. Becky Gottstein added 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Stepherson scored 10 points and registered five rebounds and six assists. Pittsburgh was led by Morris' 15 points and five rebounds. Monique Toney scored 14 points, and Kortni Webb added 12 points for Pittsburgh.
PROBABLE BOSTON COLLEGE STARTERS
| F | #50 | Kim Mackie (6-3, So., 5.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg) |
| F | #12 | Alissa Murphy (5-10, Sr., 13.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.1 apg) |
| C | #20 | Jamie Cournoyer (6-3, Jr., 10.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg) |
| G | #11 | Brianne Stepherson (5-8, So., 8.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.4 apg) |
| G | #5 | Cal Bouchard (5-7, Sr., 15.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.2 apg) |
OFF THE EAGLES' BENCH
| G | #24 | Nicole Conway (5-11, So., 4.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg) |
| G | #04 | Danielle O'Banion (5-7, Jr., 1.8 ppg, 0.5 rpg) |
| G | #34 | Alicia Shields (5-9, Fr., 1.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg) |
| F | #35 | Adriana Spears (6-1, Fr., 1.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg) |
| F | #42 | Maureen Magarity (6-2, Fr., 1.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg) |
| F | #22 | Tish Few (5-10, Sr., 0.0 ppg, 0.4 rpg) |
LINEUP CHANGES
Boston College has featured different starting lineups in the last five games due to a number of injuries. The starting lineup of Cal Bouchard, Brianne Stepherson, Alissa Murphy, Becky Gottstein, and Jamie Cournoyer registered a record of 12-3 in the first 15 games. Stepherson missed the game at Syracuse on January 3 with a muscle spasm in her neck and Nicole Conway was inserted into the starting lineup with Bouchard playing point guard. That starting lineup registered a 2-0 record with victories over Syracuse (71-62) and St. John's (67-50). Freshman Alicia Shields replaced Conway in the lineup against Providence on January 15 for her first collegiate start. An injury to Gottstein forced another lineup change for the second game against the Friars on January 22. Sophomore Kim Mackie replaced Gottstein in the frontcourt and Conway returned to the lineup to start her third game of the season. Stepherson returned to the starting lineup against Connecticut on January 26.
GOTTSTEIN SIDELINED WITH STRESS FRACTURE
Sophomore forward Becky Gottstein will be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks due to a stress fracture of the talus bone in the right ankle. Gottstein was evaluated by Dr. Diane English and a bone scan confirmed the stress fracture on January 18.
WINNING STREAK SNAPPED
Boston College's 12-game winning streak was snapped at Connecticut on January 26, when the Huskies defeated the Eagles, 84-77. The winning streak that started with an 83-70 win over Kent State on December 4, 1999 was the longest in school history. Prior to this year's 12 consecutive wins, the longest streak was seven games set a year ago. That streak started on December 8, 1998 and was snapped at Syracuse on January 13, 1999 when the Eagles lost to the Orangewomen, 73-70.
VICTORY MARGIN
Boston College outscored opponents by an average margin of 18.3 points during the 12-game winning streak. The Eagles averaged 74.7 points per game and their opponents averaged 56.4.
LAST GAME (1/26/00)
Boston College's 12-game winning streak was snapped on January 26, when No. 1 Connecticut defeated the Eagles, 84-77, at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT. Tamika Williams led the Huskies with 24 points, one shy of her career high, and seven rebounds. Cal Bouchard scored 25 points for Boston College, Brianne Stepherson netted 18, and Alissa Murphy added 16.
Connecticut shot 73 percent in the first half, but had 15 turnovers and were outrebounded 10-2 on the offensive boards. Boston College led 42-39 at intermission.
The Huskies opened the second half with a 21-8 run. Williams capped the spurt by converting a three-point play to give UConn a 60-50 lead with 11:44 remaining. Her layup a minute later increased the lead to 62-50, the Huskies' largest of the game.
Boston College cut the Connecticut lead to four on a three-pointer by Murphy with 6:17 left. With less than four minutes remaining and UConn up 78-73, Williams made a steal, then forced BC into a turnover on the Eagles' next possession. Shea Ralph, who had nine assists for the Huskies, passed to Williams under the basket with 2:08 left for an 80-73 lead.
BC pulled to within three with 42 seconds left, but Connecticut connected on all four free throw attempts to secure the win. The Huskies outrebounded the Eagles 29-23. Svetlana Abrosimova had 20 points for UConn and Sue Bird added 12.
MISC NOTES FROM CONNECTICUT LOSS
Cal Bouchard's 25 points marked her fifth consecutive game scoring in double figures. She played all 40 minutes against the Huskies... Sophomore Nicole Conway came off the bench to play 28 minutes. She has played 28 minutes in the past two games, and has averaged 23.7 minutes in the last six contests...Jamie Cournoyer's streak of four games scoring in double figures was snapped when she only netted six points against Connecticut...The game marked the only time this season that the Eagles have lost when leading at halftime...Boston College is now 0-2 against teams ranked among the top five and 1-3 against opponents in the Top 25...Brianne Stepherson shot 70 percent from the field (7-10) in her first start since January 3.
WHO'S HOT
Cal Bouchard has averaged 19.6 points in the last five games. She has scored 20 or more points in three of the last five games, and has registered double figures in scoring in 18 of the 20 contests. The senior captain connected on all five free throw attempts against Connecticut, marking the fourth consecutive game that she has been perfect from the line.
SETON HALL GAME RESCHEDULED
Due to the tragic fire in a dormitory on Seton Hall University's campus, the game between Boston College and the Pirates scheduled for January 19 at 7:00 p.m. at Chestnut Hill was postponed. The game has been rescheduled for Monday, February 7, at 5:30 p.m.
500 REBOUNDS
Alissa Murphy needs to register five rebounds to become the sixth Boston College player to score 1,000 points and register 500 rebounds during her career. The senior guard currently has 495 rebounds. Murphy became a member of the 1,000-point club on December 12, 1999, after scoring a season-high 23 points against Dartmouth.
NCAA STAT LEADERS
Alissa Murphy and Becky Gottstein were listed among the nation's statistical leaders through games of January 24. Murphy was 14th in free throw percentage (87.4), after connecting on 83-of-95 attempts. Gottstein was 25th in rebounding with an average of 10.0 per game. The team was 15th in free throw percentage (74.9), connecting on 283-of-378 attempts.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Eagles are 9-0 in games played at Conte Forum this season after defeating Davidson (86-54), Kent State (83-70), Villanova (65-55), Dartmouth (88-52), Northwestern (86-55), LaSalle (80-66), Holy Cross (66-42), St. John's (67-50), and Providence (72-52), and currently have an 11-game home winning streak. Boston College's streak dates back to February 17, 1999, when the Eagles defeated Villanova (64-39).
A year ago, Boston College finished the season with an 11-2 record in games played at home. The Eagles had a 10-game home winning streak snapped with the 66-53 loss to Miami on January 16, 1999. Boston College's other loss at home was on February 6, 1999 to No. 12 Rutgers (71-52). The 10-game winning streak included the final three home contests of the 1997-98 season.
EAGLES ON THE ROAD
Boston College is 7-4 in games played away from Conte Forum this season. The Eagles played six of their first seven games on the road, and faced three teams ranked among the Top 25. In a span of 15 days, Boston College traveled to Maine, North Carolina, Illinois, and Arkansas, and returned with a road record of 3-3. The Eagles won both of their games at the State Farm Classic in Gainesville, Fla. on December 28-29. Boston College's fourth road loss of the season was at No. 1 Connecticut on January 26. A year ago, the Eagles finished with a 9-5 record on the road.
BALANCED SCORING
Four of the Boston College starters are averaging double figures in scoring. Senior Cal Bouchard leads the team with 15.8 points per game, followed by Alissa Murphy (13.6), and Jamie Cournoyer (10.2). Becky Gottstein averaged 13.1 points in the first 18 games before being sidelined with the stress fracture.
EAGLES vs. RANKED TEAMS
Boston College is 1-3 against ranked teams this season. The Eagles played three teams in the Top 25 during the Preseason WNIT. Boston College defeated No. 22 Duke (77-70) on November 17, but lost in the semifinals to No. 3 Georgia (78-70) and to No. 13 Illinois (73-42) in the consolation game. The Eagles lost to No. 1 Connecticut (84-77) on January 26.
The Eagles have only registered five wins ever over teams ranked in the Top 25. A year ago, Boston College defeated two teams in the Top 10 for the first time in school history. The Eagles upset No. 2 Connecticut (78-66) on January 23, 1999 and No. 7 Notre Dame (78-65) on December 30, 1998, at Chestnut Hill.
EAGLES IN THE POLLS
The Eagles are currently ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. On November 22, 1999, the Eagles were ranked No. 18 in both polls, marking the highest ranking in school history.
A year ago, the Eagles climbed to their highest ranking of the season on February 1, 1999 when the team moved to No. 20. This season Boston College was ranked in both the preseason Associated Press (No. 19) and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls (No. 21) for the first time in school history.
CHARITY STRIPE
Boston College is currently leading the BIG EAST Conference in free throw percentage (75.7), after connecting on 299-of-395 attempts from the line. Alissa Murphy leads the team in free throw percentage (88.0), followed by Nicole Conway (85.0), Cal Bouchard (84.2), and Jamie Cournoyer (81.8).
FORCE ON THE PERIMETER
The Eagles are currently shooting 34.7 percent (90-259) from three-point range and have a number of players that are a threat on the perimeter. Cal Bouchard is sixth in the BIG EAST Conference, shooting 42.1 percent (51-121). Alissa Murphy is ninth in the conference and is shooting 37.5 percent (24-64). Danielle O'Banion is shooting 33.3 percent, and Brianne Stepherson has connected on 22.6 percent from three-point range this season. The sophomore point guard connected on five-of-six attempts in the victory over LaSalle on December 22.
PERFECT FROM THE LINE
Alissa Murphy, Cal Bouchard, and Jamie Cournoyer have all registered a number of perfect games from the free throw line this season. Bouchard leads the team with 11 perfect games from the line. The senior captain connected on a season-high six attempts in the victory over Northwestern on December 19.
Murphy has been perfect from the line in 10 games, including the victory at Maine on November 15, connecting on all 12 free throw attempts. A year ago, she led the BIG EAST, and was third in the nation in free throw percentage (89.0). Murphy was perfect from the line in 14 games last season.
Cournoyer has been perfect from the line in eight games. Her top performance of the season was against Duke on November 17, when she connected on all seven attempts from the line.
COACHING MILESTONE
The 67-50 victory over St. John's on January 12 marked Cathy Inglese's 100th win as head coach at Boston College. She currently has a 102-85 record in seven seasons with the Eagles, and has a career record of 222-159.
ENDING THE CENTURY ON A HIGH NOTE
Boston College ended 1999 with a perfect record in the month of December. The Eagles won all seven games by an average margin of 19.4 points and finished the month by capturing the State Farm Classic tournament title with victories over Maine and Florida. Boston College had never finished the month of December with an unblemished record.
GOTTSTEIN'S WEEKLY HONORS
Becky Gottstein earned BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week honors three times this season, before being sidelined with the stress fracture.
Gottstein earned her first BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week award on November 22 after averaging 13 points and 9.3 rebounds in three games for the Eagles. The sophomore forward scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the victory over Maine on November 15. Gottstein registered her first double-double of the season in the loss to No. 3 Georgia, netting 14 points and adding 11 rebounds.
She also was named BIG EAST Conference Co-Player of the Week on December 13. The sophomore forward averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds in Boston College's victories over Villanova and Dartmouth. Gottstein scored 23 points (8-11 FG, 7-7 FT) and grabbed 15 rebounds in the victory over Villanova and netted 17 points (8-14 FG, 1-1 FT) and pulled down nine rebounds in the win over Dartmouth.
Gottstein was named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week on January 2. The sophomore forward earned the award after being named MVP at the State Farm Classic in Gainesville, Fla. Gottstein registered double-doubles in both games at the tournament and shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the field.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
Boston College won the State Farm Classic in Gainesville, Fla., after defeating Maine (81-54) on December 28 in the first round and Florida (66-61) on December 29 in the championship tilt. The Eagles' victory over Florida marked only the second time in tournament history that the Gators did not win the annual classic. In 1991, Stephen F. Austin defeated Florida to take the title. Becky Gottstein's MVP award also marked only the second time that a Lady Gator did not win the tournament's top honor. Stephen F. Austin's Deneen Parker won the honor in 1991.
TOURNAMENT MVP
Becky Gottstein notched two double-doubles in the two Boston College wins at the State Farm Classic and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The sophomore forward scored 18 points (6-11 FG, 6-7 FT) and pulled down 12 rebounds against Maine in the first round victory. Gottstein added 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the championship game against Florida.
MURPHY'S ALL-TOURNEY HONORS
Alissa Murphy was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 19.0 points in the victories over Maine and Florida at the State Farm Classic. The senior guard led all scorers against Maine with 22 points (6-10 FG, 3-4 3-pt. FG, 7-7 FT). Murphy played all 40 minutes against Florida, tallied 16 points, connecting on 10-of-13 attempts from the line, and grabbed seven rebounds.
1,000 POINTS
Alissa Murphy joined Cal Bouchard as a member of the 1,000-point club, after scoring a season-high 23 points in the victory over Dartmouth on December 12, 1999. Both seniors reached the 1,000-point plateau this season. Bouchard netted 11 points on November 19, 1999 against Davidson and became the 11th Boston College player to score 1,000 points.
BOUCHARD EARNS WEEKLY HONORS
Cal Bouchard was named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week on December 20 after scoring a season-high 25 points in the 86-55 win over Northwestern on December 19. The senior captain connected on seven-of-10 attempts from the field, including all five three-point field goal attempts, and was perfect from the line, connecting on all six attempts. In 28 minutes of play, Bouchard did not commit any turnovers.
STEPHERSON PUMPS IN 31 POINTS
Brianne Stepherson turned in the top performance of her collegiate career in the 80-66 win over LaSalle on December 22. The sophomore guard scored a career-high 31 points (9-15 FG, 8-10 FT), including a career-high five three-point field goals. Stepherson also handed out a season-high six rebounds and tied her season-high of two steals.
EAGLE CAPTAIN
Senior Cal Bouchard will serve as the captain for the Boston College women's basketball team during the 1999-2000 season.
PRESEASON WNIT
The Eagles finished fourth in the Preseason WNIT after defeating Maine (83-56) and No. 22 Duke (77-70) in the first two rounds, but losing in the semifinals to No. 3 Georgia (78-70) and the consolation game to No. 13 Illinois (73-42). Boston College played all four games on the road.
COURNOYER'S CAREER NIGHT
Jamie Cournoyer scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Eagles to a 77-70 victory at Duke on November 17. The junior center hit seven-of-11 shots from the field and was a perfect seven-of-seven from the line. Cournoyer also registered six rebounds and three blocked shots in her second start of the season.
WNIT HONORS
Becky Gottstein was named to the Preseason WNIT All-Tournament team after averaging 12.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in the four games. The sophomore forward recorded two double-doubles, registering 14 points and 11 rebounds against Georgia, and 12 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Illinois. She netted 18 points in the victory over Maine.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Four Boston College players have registered double figures in both scoring and rebounding in a single game a number of times this season. Becky Gottstein, Alissa Murphy, Jamie Cournoyer, and Kim Mackie have accounted for 12 double-doubles this season. Murphy registered the first double-double of the season for Boston College on November 15 at Maine. The senior guard scored 16 points and added 10 rebounds in the victory over the Black Bears. Murphy recorded her second of the season against Dartmouth on December 12, with 23 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Gottstein recorded double-doubles in seven games. The sophomore forward had 14 points and 11 rebounds against Georgia on November 21, and registered 12 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Illinois on November 22. Gottstein registered consecutive double-doubles against Kent State on December 4 (26 pts. and 16 rebs) and Villanova (23 pts., 15 rebs) on December 8. Gottstein notched two double-doubles in the two games at the State Farm Classic and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. She scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds against Maine on December 28 and added 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the championship game against Florida on December 29. Her seventh double-double included 17 points and 14 rebounds in a win St. John's on January 12.
Cournoyer has registered two double-doubles this season. She tallied her first of the season on January 12 against St. John's with 14 points and 11 rebounds and registered 14 points and 10 rebounds at Providence on January 22. Mackie registered the first double-double of her career against Kent State with a career-high 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
