Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Georgetown
Women's Basketball Advances to WNIT Final Four
March 29, 2009 | Women's Basketball
March 29, 2009
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Boston College women's basketball team battled past Georgetown to advance to the 2009 WNIT Final Four by defeating the Hoyas 65-56 Sunday afternoon at Conte Forum.
BC was led by sophomore Carolyn Swords who had 16 points and 10 rebounds for her 12the double-double this season. Junior Ayla Brown contributed eight clutch rebounds and added 11 points while sophomore Stefanie Murphy notched 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Eagles held Georgetown to just one basket in the first five minutes of the first half, taking an early 6-3 lead. The Hoyas scored four of the next five baskets, taking a 10-8 advantage at 12:15. BC knocked down three baskets in a row to reclaim a 14-10 lead at 9:13. Georgetown had a one-point advantage at 3:12 before BC junior Mickel Picco sank two consecutive free throws and her first three-point shot of the game to put the Eagles up by six points. BC took the 29-23 lead into the locker room.
In the half, Swords and Stefanie Murphy combined for 7-for-11 shooting and a team-leading eight points a piece. BC shot 37 percent overall while Georgetown shot 35 percent. BC was dominant in the paint, scoring 18 points underneath the basket next to Georgetown's eight points. Hoya senior Karee Houlette made 3-of-4 three-point attempts to lead her team with nine first-half points. The teams combined for 18 turnovers.
BC took its first double-digit lead of the game at 14:50 in the second half after Swords hit her sixth basket. Georgetown climbed within five points, trailing 45-40 with 10:10 to go. BC sophomore Jaclyn Thoman made two free throws to give her team its largest lead -- 11 points -- with 8:56 to play. BC held a three-point advantage with 2:45 to go in the game when Swords brought down her 10th rebound. Brown tallied her fourth basket of the game to give the Eagles a two-basket lead at 2:09. BC knocked down all 10 of its final free throws to end the game, moving past Georgetown by the 65-56 final score.
A total of 20 second-chance points and 36 points in the paint boosted the Eagles throughout the game. BC finished with 48 rebounds to Georgetown's 28 boards. Houlett finished with a team-leading 15 points.
The Eagles will continue their WNIT championship run against South Florida on Wednesday, April 1. The game will be held at Conte Forum at 7 p.m.
Game Notes: Ayla Brown became the 18th player in the program's history to join the 500-Point-500-Rebound Club. Brown needed just four boards for 500 and she grabbed six. Brown now has 697 points and 504 rebounds ... The Eagles have now won the battle of the boards in 28 of 33 games. BC has won the rebounding battle in the last eight games .... BC shot 22-for-25 from the free throw line. The 22 made free throws made was the most the team has hit this season. Jaclyn Thoman (6-for-6), Brittanny Johnson (4-for-4), Mickel Picco (4-for-4) and Ayla Brown (3-for-3) were all perfect from the charity stripe ... The Eagles shot 1-17 from the three-point arc. It was BC's worst performance from the three-point line all season.
Story by Meredith Cook
