Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Pittsburgh
Women's Hoops Continues Late Season Surge With Overtime Win
February 24, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2001
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Boston College women's basketball team continued its late season surge, taking its fourth game in a row with a 65-63 overtime win over Pittsburgh in front of 1,929 fans. Janelle McManus converted a running jumper and then connected on the ensuing foul shot to lift the Eagles from two points down to the win.
"I was pleased with our team's perseverance," Boston College head coach Cathy Inglese said. "We were down by four in overtime and the girls did not give up. We had two good defensive stops and then Janelle made a gutsy shot. She iced the win with the foul shot which is great execution for a freshman. We made the big plays when we had to and that's what gave us the win."
BC opened the game with a 7-1 run and then made it a 10-3 game, but the Panthers clawed back and got within two, 12-10, on a Laine Selwyn jumper with 11:44 left in the first half. Pittsburgh hung tough with the Eagles, but BC built a 12-point lead with 2:09 to play, 33-21, as Becky Gottstein connected on her 14th point of the half. Brooke Stewart hit her second of four three pointers on the day to wind down the first half and the teams entered the locker rooms with BC leading, 33-26.
The Eagles shot 53.8 percent in the first half, while Pittsburgh managed 41.7 percent accuracy. Selwyn scored 11 points for the Panthers.
The second half belonged to Pittsburgh as it held BC to only one field goal and one free throw in the first 12:00 of the half. During that stretch, the Panthers rallied from 10 points down to tie the game on another Selwyn trey, 38-38, with 11:08 left. The Eagles went back up by five, 43-38, when Rachel Byars collected a Nicole Conway pass under the basket and put the layup in.
Pittsburgh didn't quit and tied once on a Monique Toney three-pointer and then again on a Selwyn trey. Gottstein added two layups that gave BC a three point lead after a free throw by Selwyn. But after a day of strong three point shooting, Stewart converted again and tied the game at 55-55 at the end of overtime. Toney drove the lane one last time and put up a shot with :17 left, but Jamie Cournoyer rejected the shot and gave the Panthers possession out of bounds. Stewart had a three-point try with :01 left, but the shot rattled off the rim and the game went into overtime. BC shot 32.1 percent in the second as Pittsburgh hit for 42.3 percent.
The Panthers went into overtime and took a four-point lead after Dallas Williams connected in a jumper from the foul line. BC came back, added a Gottstein basket and then added the three-point play from McManus that gave the team a one-point lead. Driving down court with the ball looking to even the score, the Panthers turned the ball over to Amber Jacobs, who hit a free throw to ice the win with :03 left.
Gottstein led all scorers with 25 points, one shy of her career high. She also grabbed eight rebounds while playing all 45 minutes. Jacobs scored 11. Conway had an all-around game with nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists (tying a career-high) and five steals (also tying a career-high). She added a block in the first half, while playing 43 minutes. BC honored seniors Cournoyer and Danielle O'Banion in a pregame ceremony.
Selwyn scored 23 in the losing effort and picked up five assists, a block and a steal, while Stewart chipped in 15 points. Both players hit four three pointers as the team went 11-for-20 from behind the arch. Toney scored 10 for the Panthers. Mandy Wittenmyer grabbed nine rebounds to lead all players.
Boston College moved to 12-14 overall and 6-9 in the BIG EAST. Pittsburgh fell to 9-17 overall and 3-12 in the league.
The Eagles close out the season at West Virginia on Tuesday, Feb. 27 in a 7 p.m. game. Pittsburgh finishes their season at home against Notre Dame on Tuesday in a 7 p.m. contest.
