State Champs Assert Themselves In Win Over UMass
November 29, 2020 | Women's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
BC dug in against a very good Minutewomen squad to improve to 2-0.
Taylor Soule's duel against Sam Breen reached its final act in overtime of Boston College's 90-82 overtime win on Sunday. The UMass forward's 31-point performance challenged the junior superstar, and their alternating victories on a quarter basis drew paces in the sand after the Minutewomen clawed back from a 20-point deficit. The grueling battle was a five-act Broadway production on the hardwood, which is why its final five minutes were almost anticlimactic.
BC's defense held Breen to one meaningless basket with three seconds left in the extra session, and her old-fashioned three-point play did nothing except ensure UMass didn't lose by 10. It was the last basket of the night, but it came after a 13-0 run lifted the Eagles to a 2-0 record and ended any doubt which team owned the state championship banner.
"(The win) shows that our team is extremely resilient," junior guard Marnelle Garraud said. "We got down in the third quarter, we had a lead, and we let them come back for whatever reason. So I think it shows that we're ready to fight, that we have that doggedness, and we're going to stick together through the ups and downs. We're able to finish games when it comes close and when it matters."
The 2-0 start loudly announced BC's arrival into the winter sports season and served a notice to the women's basketball world about the goings-on in Chestnut Hill. It silenced early doubters with the team's domination and created a seamless transition from the abrupt end of last year through to the start of a potential repeat performance.
Five Eagles scored in double figures against UMass, and three starters recorded a double-double, led by Soule's career-high 29 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Makayla Dickens added 15 points and 10 boards, and forward Clara Ford victimized the Minutewoman front court for 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half en route to a 15-point, 16-board, first career double-double in her second career start.
"I'm so happy for (Clara)," Soule said. "She's always worked so hard. She's a great person off the court, and she's an all-around great teammate. I know all the work that she's been putting in when people aren't always watching, so I'm really, really happy for her to have this opportunity to show everybody the player that she is. She really showed out (against UMass), and I know that she can do that every night."
The wins proved BC's ability to win different game styles against opponents. The first game against New Hampshire was a blowout after the Eagles started slow and reinforced both the individual talent and the chemistry between athletes on the floor. The pure athleticism and sheer grit of the guard position beat the Wildcat backcourt with defensive havoc, and both Garraud and Dickens played off one another enough to open transition opportunities at the basket.
That contrasted with the UMass win after the Eagles threatened to run away from the Minutewomen with a 30-point first quarter. They shot 65 percent in that initial period and outrebounded their opponent by a 3:1 margin, further burying four of the nine attempted three-pointers. It opened a 15-point lead on the defensive end when UMass failed to grab second chances, and not even a second quarter turnaround was productive in cutting into BC's total advantage.
That disappeared in the third quarter when BC went 1-for-19 from the floor and missed all seven three-point attempts. Its nine total points came primarily from Soule and Cameron Swartz's ability to get to the line, but the 11-point period blowout let UMass back into the game prior to forcing overtime in the fourth.
"I thought we fell into where we were playing their brand of basketball instead of us playing what Boston College does best," head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. "What we do best is push the tempo and then have patience and poise in the offensive set, and I thought we kept pushing tempo to try to force something really quick. We really didn't need to do that, and I think that really led to them being in (the game). We missed some easy bunny shots that really need to be makes, so it was almost like bad compounded the bad and gave them a nice 16-0 run that put us on our heels a little bit.
"I thought the recovery was good," McNamee reiterated. "I like the way that we came out in overtime very confident. I love that we had five players in double digits (and) Clara, (Soule) and Makayla Dickens all having a double-double. That's pretty impressive. I thought we did a good job. We just have to make bunnies and hit wide open shots."
It's expected more games will gear up the team for those situations. The first two games came after an awkward preseason devoid of exhibitions but full of awkward protocol adjustments. The slower start against UNH occurred due to rust the Eagles shook off against UMass. Both wins asserted local dominance but readied the team's eyes for bigger prizes on the horizon as an abbreviated non-conference schedule feeds directly into ACC conference play.
"We were very happy that we could make (these) games happen," McNamee said. "I think it should be something that we're going to try to get on the schedule year-in and year-out because it should be a little bit of a rivalry between us and UMass. That would be fun."
"The entire game, we knew that we were the better team," Soule said. "We're the Power Five school and it's just a Massachusetts kind of rivalry. We decided to prove ourselves in the fourth quarter (because) we hadn't really been doing that. I knew the bench for UMass was getting really excited when their team was scoring, and there's obviously a little bit of a pride thing (involved). If someone is going to drop 32 points on us, it's no hate on her because she's a really great player, but I have to do my part."
BC is back in action on Wednesday when the Eagles play Providence at Conte Forum at 5 p.m. The game can be seen on the ACC Network Extra as part of ESPN's online platform.
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BC's defense held Breen to one meaningless basket with three seconds left in the extra session, and her old-fashioned three-point play did nothing except ensure UMass didn't lose by 10. It was the last basket of the night, but it came after a 13-0 run lifted the Eagles to a 2-0 record and ended any doubt which team owned the state championship banner.
"(The win) shows that our team is extremely resilient," junior guard Marnelle Garraud said. "We got down in the third quarter, we had a lead, and we let them come back for whatever reason. So I think it shows that we're ready to fight, that we have that doggedness, and we're going to stick together through the ups and downs. We're able to finish games when it comes close and when it matters."
The 2-0 start loudly announced BC's arrival into the winter sports season and served a notice to the women's basketball world about the goings-on in Chestnut Hill. It silenced early doubters with the team's domination and created a seamless transition from the abrupt end of last year through to the start of a potential repeat performance.
Five Eagles scored in double figures against UMass, and three starters recorded a double-double, led by Soule's career-high 29 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Makayla Dickens added 15 points and 10 boards, and forward Clara Ford victimized the Minutewoman front court for 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half en route to a 15-point, 16-board, first career double-double in her second career start.
"I'm so happy for (Clara)," Soule said. "She's always worked so hard. She's a great person off the court, and she's an all-around great teammate. I know all the work that she's been putting in when people aren't always watching, so I'm really, really happy for her to have this opportunity to show everybody the player that she is. She really showed out (against UMass), and I know that she can do that every night."
The wins proved BC's ability to win different game styles against opponents. The first game against New Hampshire was a blowout after the Eagles started slow and reinforced both the individual talent and the chemistry between athletes on the floor. The pure athleticism and sheer grit of the guard position beat the Wildcat backcourt with defensive havoc, and both Garraud and Dickens played off one another enough to open transition opportunities at the basket.
That contrasted with the UMass win after the Eagles threatened to run away from the Minutewomen with a 30-point first quarter. They shot 65 percent in that initial period and outrebounded their opponent by a 3:1 margin, further burying four of the nine attempted three-pointers. It opened a 15-point lead on the defensive end when UMass failed to grab second chances, and not even a second quarter turnaround was productive in cutting into BC's total advantage.
That disappeared in the third quarter when BC went 1-for-19 from the floor and missed all seven three-point attempts. Its nine total points came primarily from Soule and Cameron Swartz's ability to get to the line, but the 11-point period blowout let UMass back into the game prior to forcing overtime in the fourth.
"I thought we fell into where we were playing their brand of basketball instead of us playing what Boston College does best," head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. "What we do best is push the tempo and then have patience and poise in the offensive set, and I thought we kept pushing tempo to try to force something really quick. We really didn't need to do that, and I think that really led to them being in (the game). We missed some easy bunny shots that really need to be makes, so it was almost like bad compounded the bad and gave them a nice 16-0 run that put us on our heels a little bit.
"I thought the recovery was good," McNamee reiterated. "I like the way that we came out in overtime very confident. I love that we had five players in double digits (and) Clara, (Soule) and Makayla Dickens all having a double-double. That's pretty impressive. I thought we did a good job. We just have to make bunnies and hit wide open shots."
It's expected more games will gear up the team for those situations. The first two games came after an awkward preseason devoid of exhibitions but full of awkward protocol adjustments. The slower start against UNH occurred due to rust the Eagles shook off against UMass. Both wins asserted local dominance but readied the team's eyes for bigger prizes on the horizon as an abbreviated non-conference schedule feeds directly into ACC conference play.
"We were very happy that we could make (these) games happen," McNamee said. "I think it should be something that we're going to try to get on the schedule year-in and year-out because it should be a little bit of a rivalry between us and UMass. That would be fun."
"The entire game, we knew that we were the better team," Soule said. "We're the Power Five school and it's just a Massachusetts kind of rivalry. We decided to prove ourselves in the fourth quarter (because) we hadn't really been doing that. I knew the bench for UMass was getting really excited when their team was scoring, and there's obviously a little bit of a pride thing (involved). If someone is going to drop 32 points on us, it's no hate on her because she's a really great player, but I have to do my part."
BC is back in action on Wednesday when the Eagles play Providence at Conte Forum at 5 p.m. The game can be seen on the ACC Network Extra as part of ESPN's online platform.
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Players Mentioned
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