Boston College Athletics
BC Takes On Top Seed UConn
March 05, 2000 | Women's Basketball
March 5, 2000
2000 BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals
#4 seed BOSTON COLLEGE (25-7, 12-4)
vs.
#1 seed UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT (28-1, 16-0)
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Boston College has an overall record of 13-17 in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament. The Eagles opened the 2000 BIG EAST Tournament with a 70-53 first round victory over West Virginia and followed with a 74-52 win over Georgetown in the quarterfinals. Boston College will play in the semifinals for the first time since the 1990 tournament. The Eagles have only advanced to the championship game once. In 1987, Boston College lost to Villanova, 60-45, in the final at duPont Pavilion in Villanova, Pa.
BEST SEASON EVER
The Eagles currently have a 25-7 overall record, marking the most victories in school history. Boston College finished the regular season with a 23-7 record and registered its second consecutive 20-win season. The previous record for victories in a season was 22, set by the 1998-99 squad.
EAGLES vs. HUSKIES
Boston College and Connecticut have played 38 games, and the Huskies lead the series, 26-12. The teams played only one game during the regular season, and Connecticut defeated the Eagles at Storrs, 84-77, on January 26. Connecticut, ranked No. 1 in the nation, snapped Boston College's 12-game winning streak, the longest in school history. The Eagles entered the game ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Boston College's last victory in the series was on January 23, 1999 at Chestnut Hill, when the Eagles defeated Connecticut, 78-66. The Huskies have won the last two games in the series. Prior to last year's victory, Boston College had lost 16 consecutive games to Connecticut, dating back to January 17, 1990.
SERIES RECORD: Connecticut leads, 26-12
BC in Series: Home: 7-9, Away 3-15, Neutral 2-2
BC vs. CONNECTICUT IN BIG EAST TOURNAMENT (2-3)
1983- Boston College 69, Connecticut 57 (First Round at Providence)
1984- Connecticut 52, Boston College 51 (First Round at St. John's)
1988- Boston College 71, Connecticut 56 (Quarterfinals at Pittsburgh)
1989- Connecticut 65, Boston College 45 (Semifinals at Seton Hall)
1990- Connecticut 72, Boston College 51 (Semifinals at Connecticut)
PROBABLE BOSTON COLLEGE STARTERS
F #50 Kim Mackie (6-3, So., 5.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
F #12 Alissa Murphy (5-10, Sr., 13.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.8 apg)
C #20 Jamie Cournoyer (6-3, Jr., 11.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
G #11 Brianne Stepherson (5-8, So., 8.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.8 apg)
G #05 Cal Bouchard (5-7, Sr., 16.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.3 apg)
OFF THE EAGLES' BENCH
F #54 Becky Gottstein (6-1, So., 13.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg)
G #24 Nicole Conway (5-11, So., 3.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
G #04 Danielle O'Banion (5-7, Jr., 1.2 ppg, 0.6 rpg)
G #34 Alicia Shields (5-9, Fr., 1.8 ppg, 1.1 rpg)
F #35 Adriana Spears (6-1, Fr., 2.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg)
F #42 Maureen Magarity (6-2, Fr., 2.1 ppg, 1.2 rpg)
F #22 Tish Few (5-10, Sr., 0.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
EAGLES vs. RANKED TEAMS
Boston College is 1-5 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 at No. 1 Connecticut (84-77) on January 26, at No. 5 Notre Dame (72-59) on February 5, and at Rutgers (73-51) on February 23.
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.
TOURNAMENT VICTORY MARGIN
The Eagles have outscored their opponents in the two tournament games by an average of 19.5 points. Boston College has averaged 72.0 points in two games and opponents have tallied 52.5 per game.
QUARTERFINALS
Boston College advanced to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament on Sunday with a 74-52 win over No. 5 seed Georgetown. Three players scored in double figures for Boston College, led by Alissa Murphy's 19 points. Murphy connected on 10-of-12 from the line, and added four rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Cal Bouchard pumped in 18 points and Becky Gottstein added 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Hoyas opened with a three-pointer but Boston College went on a 24-3 run in the first 10 minutes to give the Eagles a 24-6 lead with 7:50 left in the first half. Murphy scored nine points during the Eagles run. The Hoyas had just one field goal - a Dani Illic 3-pointer - in the first seven minutes. Boston College built a 20-point lead, but Georgetown scored eight points in the closing minutes to cut the Eagles' halftime lead to 32-18.
Georgetown cut the Boston College lead to 47-36 with 8:10 left in the game on two free throws by Nok Duany, but the Eagles shot 47.8 percent from the field and added to their lead in the final minutes. Boston College connected on five free throws in the final two minutes and had a 22-point lead when Danielle O'Banion scored a three-pointer with 20 seconds left in the game. Boston College had 23 points off of 25 turnovers. Katie Smrcka-Duffy led the Hoyas with 20 points and Duany added 13 points and six rebounds.
GOTTSTEIN RETURNS:
Sophomore Becky Gottstein returned to action in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament, after missing 12 games with a stress fracture in her right ankle. In two games, she has averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds. The sophomore forward checked into the game against West Virginia with 15:05 remaining in the first half. She pulled down her first rebound with 12:59 to play in the first half and scored her first basket, a lay-up, with 9:27 left in the half. In 19 minutes of play, the forward registered seven points and pulled down nine rebounds. Against Georgetown in the quarterfinals, she registered 18 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes. Gottstein was leading the BIG EAST in rebounding with 10.0 rpg and was second on the team with a 13.1 ppg scoring average before she was injured.
MISC. NOTES FROM THE FIRST-ROUND WIN
Sophomore Nicole Conway tallied nine points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of play against West Virginia. All 12 members of the Eagles' squad played in the game. The Eagles led the BIG EAST Conference in free throw percentage during the regular season, shooting 75.0 percent, but shot only 54.5 percent (12-22) in the opening round against the Mountaineers...The team's 50 rebounds marked a season-high. The previous high was 46 against Providence (Jan. 15)
WHO'S HOT
Alissa Murphy has scored in double figures in both tournament games, and has averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. The senior led the Eagles in scoring with 19 points against Georgetown...Sophomore Kim Mackie has averaged 7.5 rebounds in the two tournament games. She grabbed eight against West Virginia in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament and added seven against Georgetown.
BIG EAST SCHOLAR-ATHLETE
Cal Bouchard was named the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete, receiving a $2,000 scholarship which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. The senior guard is an accounting major enrolled in BC's Carroll School of Management Honors Program. A Rhodes Scholar candidate, she is a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star and has been named to the Dean's List seven semesters.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
A Boston College player has been named the BIG EAST Most Improved Player the past two seasons. Jamie Cournoyer earned the award after improving her scoring average (12.0) by more than six points per game and nearly doubled her rebounding total (175). Cournoyer scored in double figures in 20 games during the regular season and was third in the league in blocked shots with an average of 1.6 per game. Alissa Murphy earned the award for the 1998-99 season.
ALL-BIG EAST HONORS:
Senior captain Cal Bouchard was named to All-BIG EAST First Team and senior Alissa Murphy and junior Jamie Cournoyer earned All-BIG EAST Third Team honors.
Bouchard was the team's leading scorer, averaging 16.3 points per game and finished second in BIG EAST scoring. She led the league in three point field goals made per game with an average of 2.83. The senior guard earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors as a sophomore before a knee injury sidelined her for the second half of the 1998-99 season.
Murphy, who earned BIG EAST Most Improved Player honors a year ago, was second on the team in scoring with an average of 13.3 points per game and led the BIG EAST in free throw percentage, shooting 87.3 percent from the line. She became the 6th player to register 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her collegiate career. Cournoyer started all 30 games at center and averaged 12.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. She was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on February 14 after scoring a career-high 33 points in the win over Seton Hall (Feb.7).
HEAD COACH CATHY INGLESE:
Head coach Cathy Inglese is currently in her seventh 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 seven seasons at BC she has registered a record of 111-88, and has a career record of 231-162. She recorded her 100th victory at Boston College on January 12, 2000 with a 67-50 win over St. John's. Inglese led the 1998-99 team to a 22-8 record, the most successful in school history, and was voted BIG EAST Conference Coach of the Year.
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 (7 Years) | 111-88 |
| Career Record (14 Years) | 231-162 |
| BIG EAST Regular Season Record (6 Years) | 67-57 |
| BIG EAST Tournament Record (6 Years) | 5-6 |
| BIG EAST Overall Record (6 Years) | 72-63 |
| NCAA Record (3 appearances) | 1-3 |
RECORD OF BC STARTING LINEUPS
Gottstein, Murphy, Cournoyer, Stepherson, Bouchard 12-3
Gottstein, Conway, Cournoyer, Bouchard, Murphy 2-0
Gottstein, Murphy, Cournoyer, Bouchard, Shields 1-0
Mackie, Conway, Cournoyer, Bouchard, Murphy 1-0
Mackie, Murphy, Cournoyer, Bouchard, Stepherson 6-4
Murphy, Conway, Cournoyer, Bouchard, Stepherson 2-0
Few, Murphy, Cournoyer, Bouchard, Stepherson 1-0
CONSECUTIVE STARTS
| Alissa Murphy | 62 games |
| Cal Bouchard | 32 games |
| Jamie Cournoyer | 32 games |
| Brianne Stepherson | 13 games |
| Kim Mackie | 2 games |
EAGLES RECORD WHEN...
| Leading at the half: | 22-1 |
| Trailing at the half: | 3-5 |
| Tied at the half: | 0-1 |
| BC leads with 5:00 remaining: | 24-2 |
| BC trails with 5:00 remaining: | 1-5 |
| Score tied with 5:00 remaining: | 0-0 |
| BC outrebounds opponent: | 19-1 |
| Opponent outrebounds BC: | 4-5 |
| BC's rebounds equal opponents: | 2-1 |
| BC FG% is 50.0 or higher: | 10-1 |
| BC FG% is below 50.0: | 15-6 |
| BC has more FT attempts than opponent: | 21-3 |
| BC has fewer FT attempts than opponent: | 4-4 |
| BC has equal FT attempts as opponent: | 0-0 |
| BC has more turnovers than opponent: | 6-3 |
| BC has fewer turnovers than opponent: | 15-4 |
| BC has equal turnovers as opponent: | 4-0 |
| BC has more fouls than opponent | 7-2 |
| BC has fewer fouls than opponent | 16-2 |
| BC has equal fouls as opponent | 2-3 |
| BC scores more than 80 points: | 8-0 |
| BC scores 70-79 points: | 9-2 |
| BC scores 60-69 points: | 8-1 |
| BC scores fewer than 60 points: | 0-4 |
| BC allows more than 80 points: | 0-1 |
| BC allows 70-79 points: | 2-5 |
| BC allows 60-69 points: | 4-1 |
| BC allows fewer than 60 points: | 19-0 |
EAGLES BY THE NUMBERS...
| Overall: | 25-7 |
| Home Games: | 14-0 |
| Road Games: | 8-6 |
| Neutral Games: | 3-1 |
| Tournament Games: | 6-2 |
| vs. a Top 5 Opponent: | 0-3 |
| vs. a Top 10 Opponent: | 0-1 |
| vs. a Top 25 Opponent: | 1-1 |
| BIG EAST Games: | 12-4 |
| BIG EAST Home Games: | 8-0 |
| BIG EAST Road Games: | 4-4 |
| BIG EAST Neutral Games: | 0-0 |
| Non BIG EAST Games: | 12-3 |
| Non BIG EAST Home Games: | 6-0 |
| Non BIG EAST Away Games: | 4-2 |
| Non BIG EAST Neutral Games: | 2-1 |
| Day Games: | 14-3 |
| Night Games: | 11-4 |
| November Games: | 4-3 |
| December Games: | 7-0 |
| January Games: | 6-1 |
| February Games: | 6-3 |
| March Games | 2-0 |
| Television Games: | 1-5 |
| vs. Ranked Teams: | 1-5 |
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
Led Team In Scoring
Cal Bouchard (13 games)
Nicole Conway (1 game)
Jamie Cournoyer (3 games, 1 tie for the lead)
Becky Gottstein (3 games, 2 ties for the lead)
Alissa Murphy (6 games, 2 ties for the lead)
Brianne Stepherson (3 games, 1 tie for the lead)
Led Team In Rebounding
Jamie Cournoyer (9 games)
Becky Gottstein (13 games, 2 ties for the lead)
Kim Mackie (1 game, 2 ties for the lead)
Alissa Murphy (6 games, 1 tie for the lead)
Adriana Spears (1 tie for lead)
Led Team In Assists
Cal Bouchard (4 games, 3 ties for the lead)
Nicole Conway (1 tie for the lead)
Jamie Cournoyer (1 game, 1 tie for the lead)
Becky Gottstein (1 tie for the lead)
Alissa Murphy (8 games, 2 ties for the lead)
Alicia Shields (1 game)
Brianne Stepherson (11 games, 7 ties for the lead)
Led Team In Steals
Cal Bouchard (1 game, 11 ties for the lead)
Nicole Conway (1 game, 8 ties for the lead)
Jamie Cournoyer (1 game, 3 ties for the lead)
Becky Gottstein (1 game)
Kim Mackie (3 games, 3 ties for the lead)
Alissa Murphy (7 games, 8 ties for the lead)
Alicia Shields (4 ties for the lead)
Adriana Spears (1 tie for the lead)
Brianne Stepherson (1 game, 9 ties for the lead)
30+ Games
Jamie Cournoyer (1 game)
Brianne Stepherson (1 game)
20+ Games
Cal Bouchard (10 games)
Alissa Murphy (5 games)
Becky Gottstein (2 games)
Jamie Cournoyer (2 games)
PRODUCTION BREAKDOWN
| Points | Rebounds | |
| Opponent (Date) | Starters/Reserves | Starters/Reserves |
| Maine (11/15/99) | 75/8 | 30/8 |
| Duke (11/17/99) | 73/4 | 30/6 |
| Davidson (11/19/99) | 62/24 | 20/17 |
| Georgia (11/21/99) | 60/10 | 24/10 |
| Illinois (11/22/99) | 39/3 | 28/10 |
| Massachusetts (11/27/99) | 52/8 | 32/6 |
| Arkansas (11/30/99) | 50/18 | 20/14 |
| Kent State (12/4/99) | 62/21 | 26/11 |
| Villanova (12/8/99) | 52/13 | 25/4 |
| Dartmouth (12/12/99) | 65/23 | 25/18 |
| Northwestern (12/19/99) | 64/17 | 22/13 |
| LaSalle (12/22/99) | 64/16 | 22/18 |
| Maine (12/28/99) | 67/16 | 18/5 |
| Florida (12/29/99) | 64/2 | 34/2 |
| Holy Cross (1/3/00) | 40/26 | 27/10 |
| Syracuse (1/9/00) | 66/5 | 30/7 |
| St. John's (1/12/00) | 60/7 | 38/3 |
| Providence (1/15/00) | 56/16 | 30/10 |
| Providence (1/22/00) | 67/4 | 34/7 |
| Connecticut (1/26/00) | 69/8 | 17/2 |
| Pittsburgh (1/29/00) | 75/10 | 24/8 |
| Miami (2/2/00) | 55/11 | 30/7 |
| Notre Dame (2/5/00) | 57/2 | 29/1 |
| Seton Hall (2/7/00) | 59/19 | 19/6 |
| Villanova (2/12/00) | 53/6 | 22/1 |
| Georgetown (2/16/00) | 60/12 | 17/10 |
| Pittsburgh (2/20/00) | 51/15 | 26/11 |
| Rutgers (2/23/00) | 49/2 | 20/0 |
| West Virginia (2/26/00) | 60/8 | 30/6 |
| Syracuse (2/29/00) | 66/14 | 18/16 |
| West Virginia (3/4/00) | 48/22 | 23/24 |
| Georgetown (3/5/00) | 49/25 | 18/12 |
| CAREER SCORING | CAREER REBOUNDING | ||
| Cal Bouchard | 1467 points | Cal Bouchard | 267 rebounds |
| Nicole Conway | 302 points | Nicole Conway | 176 rebounds |
| Jamie Cournoyer | 580 points | Jamie Cournoyer | 328 rebounds |
| Tish Few | 7 points | Tish Few | 18 rebounds |
| Becky Gottstein | 562 points | Becky Gottstein | 403 rebounds |
| Kim Mackie | 180 points | Kim Mackie | 168 rebounds |
| Maureen Magarity | 40 points | Maureen Magarity | 23 rebounds |
| Alissa Murphy | 1319 points | Alissa Murphy | 569 rebounds |
| Danielle O'Banion | 146 points | Danielle O'Banion | 61 rebounds |
| Alicia Shields | 50 points | Alicia Shields | 31 rebounds |
| Adriana Spears | 63 points | Adriana Spears | 36 rebounds |
| Brianne Stepherson | 515 points | Brianne Stepherson | 204 rebounds |
1999-2000 Awards/Honors
Cal Bouchard
BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week (Dec. 20)
BIG EAST Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete
All-BIG EAST First Team
Jamie Cournoyer
BIG EAST Player of the Week (Feb. 14)
BIG EAST Most Improved Player
All-BIG EAST Third Team
Becky Gottstein
BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week (Nov. 22)
Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team
BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week (Dec. 13)
State Farm Classic MVP
BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week (Jan. 2)
Alissa Murphy
BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week (Jan. 31)
Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team
Preseason Street & Smith Honorable Mention All-American
State Farm Classic All-Tournament Team
All-BIG EAST Third Team
DOUBLE FIGURE GAMES (Scoring)
Cal Bouchard (27 games)
Nicole Conway (3 games)
Jamie Cournoyer (20 games)
Becky Gottstein (13 games)
Kim Mackie (3 games)
Maureen Magarity (1 game)
Alissa Murphy (24 games)
Adriana Spears (1 game)
Brianne Stepherson (12 games)
DOUBLE FIGURE GAMES (Rebounding)
Jamie Cournoyer (4 games)
Becky Gottstein (9 games)
Kim Mackie (2 games)
Alissa Murphy (2 games)
EAGLES CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
Points
| 1. | 2523 | Sarah Behn (89-93) | ||
| 2. | 1957 | Holly Porter (93-97) | ||
| 3. | 1691 | Kerry Curran (90-94) | ||
| 4. | 1467 | Cal Bouchard (96-) | ||
| 5. | 1337 | Ann Odoy (84-88) | ||
| 6. | 1319 | Alissa Murphy (96-) | ||
| 7. | 1243 | Carla Wenger (87-91) | ||
| 8. | 1147 | Amy LaCombe (86-90) | ||
| 9. | 1084 | Leslie Bjerstedt (85-89) | ||
| 10. | 1075 | Mary Pat Kelly (80-84) |
3-Pt. Field Goals Made
| 1. | 206 | Cal Bouchard (96-) | |||
| 2. | 133 | Ann Odoy (84-88) | |||
| 3. | 106 | Sarah Behn (89-93) | |||
| 4. | 105 | Kerry Curran (90-94) | |||
| 5. | 99 | Joanie Gallagher (91-95) | |||
| 6. | 98 | Alissa Murphy (96-) | |||
| 7. | 86 | Aimee McGuire (94-98) | |||
| 8. | 76 | Mandy West (95-97) |
3-Pt. Field Goals Attempted
| 1. | 487 | Cal Bouchard (96-) | |||
| 2. | 342 | Ann Odoy (84-88) | |||
| 3. | 321 | Joanie Gallagher (91-95) | |||
| 4. | 265 | Sarah Behn (89-93) | |||
| 5. | 257 | Alissa Murphy (96-) | |||
| 6. | 229 | Aimee McGuire (94-98) | |||
| 7. | 226 | Mandy West (95-97) |
Free Throws Made
| 1. | 683 | Sarah Behn (89-93) | |
| 2. | 578 | Holly Porter (93-) | |
| 3. | 414 | Alissa Murphy (96-) | |
| 4. | 306 | Kerry Curran (90-94) | |
| 5. | 303 | Pam Thornton (83-87) | |
| 6. | 300 | Cal Bouchard (96-) | |
| 7. | 255 | Ann Odoy (84-88) | |
Free Throws Attempted
| 1. | 824 | Holly Porter (93-97) | ||
| 2. | 808 | Sarah Behn (89-93) | ||
| 3. | 485 | Alissa Murphy (96-) | ||
| 4. | 412 | Kerry Curran (90-94) | ||
| 5. | 387 | Cal Bouchard (96-) | ||
| 6. | 385 | Carla Wenger (86-91) | ||
| 7. | 374 | Pam Thornton (83-87) | ||
| 8. | 353 | Ann Odoy (84-88) |
