Boston College
Boston University
Women's Basketball Advances Past Boston University, 68-53
March 23, 2009 | Women's Basketball
March 23, 2009
Chestnut Hill, Mass. - The Boston College women's basketball team played host to cross-town rivals Boston University in the second round of the WNIT Tournament, advancing past the Terriers by a score of 68-53 Monday evening.
BC's super sophomores Carolyn Swords and Stefanie Murphy put in a stellar effort, both notching double-doubles. Swords led the team with 16 points while Murphy led the team 11 rebounds. Swords notched 10 boards and Murphy scored 11 points. Sophomore forward Lauren Whitehurst provided a spark off the bench with seven points and nine rebounds,while point guard Jaclyn Thoman added nine points and htree rebounds.
Both teams swapped leads for the first five minutes of the first. Swords went 3-for-5 from the field for a team-leading nine points and six rebounds. Junior Ayla Brown started perfect from the field, going 2-2 in the first eight minutes and finishing with six points. With BC out in front 11-10, BU scored five unanswered points to bring the score to 16-11. The Terriers gained their largest lead of nine points at the 6:50 mark. Turnovers were a major factor as the Terriers scored 11 points off of the Eagles' mishaps. BC battled back with a big effort on the boards, bringing the lead down to three points with 3:40 left in the half. BU went into its locker room with a 34-31 halftime advantage.
In the half, BC shot 33 percent from the field while BU marked 46 percent. The Eagles out-rebounded the Terriers 25-12. BU senior Kristi Dini led her team with 12 points.
Murphy made a three-point play two minutes into the second half to give the Eagles their first lead since the 14:58 point of the first. Freshman Jasmine Gill scored her first points of the game, a clutch three-pointer at 15:30 to give BC a four point advantage. Swords earned her 11th double-double of the 2008-09 season with a rebound and put back for a five point lead at 9:58. BC never lost its game control as sophomore Lauren Whitehurst made her third basket of the game to give the team a 10 point lead with 4:45 to go. The Eagles sealed their victory as freshman Mia Nickson sank a free-throw for the final16 point advantage with one minute to play. BC won by the final score 68-53.
BC outscored the Terriers 35-19 in the second half. The defensive efforts remained a huge factor, as BC brought down a total of 57 rebounds to BU's 23. Dini led BU scorers with 17 points.
The Eagles go on to play St. John's in the next round of WNIT games. Last season Boston College lost to St. John's in the third round, 65-54. This year's third round action will be held at St. John's with time and date to be announced.
Story by Meredith Cook
