Boston College
North Carolina State
Women's Basketball Earns Win In ACC Season Opener
January 10, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2010
Chestnut Hill, MA -
Senior Brittanny Johnson scored a season-high 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had five assists to lead Boston College to an 83-66 victory over NC State in the ACC season opener in front of 1984 fans at Conte Forum. The Eagles snapped a four-game win streak by the Wolfpack (11-6) and extended their streak to three games. BC is now 10-6 overall and 1-0 ACC.
"She is our most experienced player and can handle touch situations. She really made big plays,'' said BC Head Coach Sylvia Crawley. "She made some good decisions. She did a great job running the offense.''
Along with Johnson, senior Mickel Picco pitched in with 21 points, 17 in the first half, while junior Carolyn Swords earned her ninth double-double of the year with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
BC never trailed in the contest as the Eagles opened the game on a 14-4 run behind 10 points from Mickel Picco. A layup by Picco at 13:07 gave BC an 18-6 lead. The Eagles lead grew to 15 points at 5:47 when Picco hit another layup. NC State senior Nikitta Gartrell (15 points) and Bonae Holston each scored seven points, four by Gartrell in the final four minutes to close the gap. BC shot 54 percent from the floor and led 43-35 at the half.
At the start of the second half, NC State went on an 8-2 run which cut the BC lead to two points, 45-43 at 17:18 in the game. A Swords layup followed by four consecutive foul shots by Stefanie Murphy gave BC a 51-43 lead with just under 16 minutes to play.
With just under nine minutes to play. BC held an eight point lead after Johnson (10-for-10 from the free throw line) hit two freebies. NC State score four straight points but a key traditional three-point play by Johnson gave BC a 60-53 lead at 7:51 in the game.
NC State's Bonae Holston (19 points) scored four straight points and cut the BC lead to three points with 7:33 to play. BC freshman Kerri Shields (five points) would stick a long three-pointer extending the lead to six points. Johnson would score seven more points and set up a tradition three-point play by Swords to seal the win in the final five minutes of play.
