Women's Basketball Returns Home to Face No. 4/3 NC State
December 11, 2020 | Women's Basketball
Eagles and Wolfpack tipoff Sunday at 2 p.m. on ACC Network
Boston College Hosts No. 4/3 NC State
• Boston College opens the home portion of its ACC schedule against one of the top-ranked teams in the nation as undefeated NC State visits Conte Forum Sunday at 2 p.m. The Wolfpack are ranked fourth by the Associated Press and third in this week's coaches' Top 25.
• ACC Network has the national television broadcast with Pam Ward and LaChina Robinson calling the game.
• The Eagles look to bounce back in the win column after suffering their first loss of the season at Georgia Tech on Wednesday (86-68). NC State remained perfect on the young season with a 76-47 win over in-state foe Elon on Wednesday at home.
• Sunday's game for BC is the first versus a ranked opponent this season. The last time BC played a ranked team was No. 10/10 NC State in the ACC Tournament semifinals on March 7, 2020.
• The Wolfpack are the first top-five opponent to visit Conte Forum since No. 5/4 Louisville last January. The Cardinals captured an 81-70 win on Jan. 16, 2020 at Conte Forum.
• BC's last victory over a ranked team was a 65-56 win at No. 14/14 Florida State last season (Jan. 30, 2020).
• The last win over a ranked foe at home for Boston College was a 60-56 win over No. 13/15 Duke on January 22, 2015.
• The 2020-21 campaign is the 49th season of Boston College women's basketball. The program made its debut during the 1972-73 season on January 9, 1973 versus Eastern Nazarene.
Last Time Out
• Boston College lost its first game of the season at Georgia Tech as the host Yellow Jackets captured an 86-68 victory on Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion.
• BC (4-1, 0-1 ACC) could not overcome a hot shooting Georgia Tech (3-1, 1-0 ACC) team that hit on 61 percent of its shots in the first half.
• Junior forward Taylor Soule led BC in scoring with 19 points, including her first career three-point field goal. Junior Makayla Dickens added 16 points and seven rebounds while junior Cameron Swartz had a strong showing with 14 points of her own.
Last Time vs. NC State
• Senior Emma Guy scored 19 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds but it was not enough as No. 6 Boston College fell to No. 2 NC State, 82-75, in the semifinals of the 2020 ACC Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum.
• Boston College (20-11) made a deep run in the tournament with a second round win over Clemson followed by an upset win over No. 3 Duke.
• The Wolfpack pulled away in the second quarter on a 31-6 run that started at the end of the first quarter. NC State made 7-of-13 three-pointers and took a 48-30 lead at halftime. BC was held to just six points in the second quarter.
Trending Up
• Boston College is in year three of the Joanna Bernabei-McNamee era and the Eagles are trending way up after a strong 2019-20 campaign.
• The Eagles are on the national radar after advancing to the ACC Tournament semifinals last season.
• Boston College was picked to finish 13th in the ACC prior to the start of last season. The Eagles crushed the low expectations with a 20-12 overall record and a record setting 11-7 conference mark. The 20 wins were the most for BC since the 2010-11 team went 20-13. The 11 ACC wins was a new program record since joining the ACC in 2006.
• Joanna Bernabei-McNamee was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year last season. Bernabei-McNamee earned the honor from both the ACC coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel.
• Bernabei-McNamee was the first BC women's head coach to earn conference Coach of the Year accolades since Cathy Inglese won the honor in the Big East in the 1998-99 season.
• The 20 wins were the most victories since 2010-11 when BC finished the season at 20-13. The 11-7 conference record set a new program record for most ACC wins. It was also the most conference victories since BC went 11-5 in 2003-04 in the Big East.
• The Eagles' fourth place finish was the best in program history since BC joined the ACC in 2005-06. Bernabei-McNamee also led the team to six ACC road wins, a new program record. One of the road wins was her first victory over a ranked team, No. 14 Florida State on Jan. 30.
News and Notes (As of Dec. 11)
• Boston College leads the ACC and ranks eighth nationally shooting 84.8 percent from the free throw line.
• The Eagles rank 15th nationally and fourth in the ACC with 78 free throws made this season.
• The Eagles are 32nd in the country and second in the conference with 23.3 turnovers forced per game.
• BC's 46 steals rank 24th nationally and fourth in the ACC.
• BC is outscoring the opposition by 17.6 points per game, the 45th-best scoring margin in the country.
• The Eagles rank 19th in the country in rebounds (216) and 34th nationally in rebounding margin per game (11.2).
• Taylor Soule is 16th nationally and second in the ACC with two double-doubles this season.
• Soule leads the ACC and ranks seventh in the country in free throws made (29).
• Soule is seventh in the ACC with 17.6 points per game.
• Soule ranks eighth nationally and second in the conference in free throw attempts (35).
• Marnelle Garraud and Kaylah Ivey both rank fourth in the ACC and 37th nationally with 11 steals.
• BC is fourth in the ACC with 32.0 defensive rebounds per game.
• The Eagles rank third in the league with 9.2 steals per contest. BC's +3.2 turnover margin is fourth in the ACC.
Inside the NC State Series
• Boston College is 8-18 all-time against NC State.
• Sunday's game marks the 27th all-time meeting between the two schools. BC is 6-6 all-time at Conte Forum against the Wolfpack.
• NC State has won seven straight in the series and the last three meetings at Conte Forum.
Scouting NC State
• The Wolfpack checked in at a season-high No. 4 in Monday's edition of the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. It marks the 37th week in program history that NC State has been featured in the top five.
• NC State's most impressive victory of the season came at No. 1 South Carolina as the Wolfpack captured a 54-46 win.
• Six players averaging double figures after non-conference play, led by team-leading 69 total points and 13.8 points per game from junior center Elissa Cunane.
• Three players on the team with 25+ attempts from the field who have compiled shooting marks of better than 50 percent - Elissa Cunane (.522), Kayla Jones (.575), Raina Perez (.528)
Ivey Continues to Grow
• True freshman point guard Kaylah Ivey is quickly showing everyone why she was one of the most coveted high school recruits last year.
• In the 88-38 win over UMass Lowell on Dec. 6, Ivey led the way for the Eagles as she recorded a career-high 23 points.
• Ivey was sensational in her fourth game as an Eagle, setting new career-highs in scoring (23), free throws (5-for-5), field goals (seven) and three-pointers (four).
• The Blue Star Basketball Report rated Ivey the nation's 14th best point guard prospect and the nation's 75th-best recruit overall coming out of Riverdale Baptist School last season. The Forestville, Md. native finished her prep career with 1,424 points and had over 500 assists in 122 games.
Career Day for Clara
• With the graduation of All-ACC standout Emma Guy, junior Clara Ford knew she had big shoes to help fill in 2020-21. The Virginia native wasted little time to show she is ready to help fill the void in the post for the Eagles.
• In her first career start vs. New Hampshire on Nov. 25, Ford finished with a career-high 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field in the win. She added seven boards in just 14 minutes of action after getting into early foul trouble.
• Ford followed up the opener with a new career day against UMass on Nov. 29.
• She recorded her first career double-double - in the first half against the Minutewomen. The junior finished the game with 15 points and 16 rebounds. The points and rebound totals were new career-highs for Ford.
• Ford is fourth on the team in scoring (10.0 points per game) and second in rebounding (8.6 rebounds per game).
Well Worth the Wait
• Redshirt freshman center Akunna Konkwo missed all of last season due to injury, but the Virginia product showed everyone she is back and ready to be a key contributor to the Eagles.
• She finished with 10 points and seven rebounds to help give BC a dynamic 1-2 punch in the post in the win over UNH with Clara Ford.
• Konkwo totaled seven rebounds and one block in 20 minutes of action versus the Wildcats.
• The redshirt freshman leads BC in field goal percentage (66.7).
Preseason All-ACC
• Taylor Soule was named Preseason All-ACC according to separate polls of the league's 15 head coaches and the Blue Ribbon Panel.
• Soule is coming off a breakout sophomore season and was named the 2019-20 ACC's Most Improved Player.
• She was instrumental in Boston College's turnaround last season, as she averaged 7.9 points per game as a freshman and has taken her game to the next level in her sophomore year, nearly doubling that total with 14.5 points a game.
• Soule scored a career-high 29 points in the Eagles' win against North Carolina, which ranked among the ACC's top individual scoring performances in a game last season.
• An All-ACC Tournament second-team honoree, Soule was named to the All-ACC Blue Ribbon second-team and All-ACC Honorable Mention following the 2019-20 campaign.
• The Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Nov. 30 that Soule was named the conference's women's basketball player of the week. Soule was sensational in BC's two victories, averaging 25.5 points per game in wins over New Hampshire and UMass.
• It marked the third time in Soule's career she has been named the ACC Player of the Week. The last time a BC player was named ACC Player of the Week was Soule on Feb. 24, 2020.
Watch List SZN ...
• Taylor Soule was named to the 2021 Women's Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced.
• Overall, the list of 50 women's players represents 11 national conferences.
• The midseason 30 team will be announced in early February; players who do not make the watch list are still eligible to be selected for the midseason 30 team. Then, the competition will be narrowed down to 10 national semifinalists on March 2, 2021, and four finalists will be named on March 19, 2021. The winner of the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy for Women's Player of the Year will be announced on April 3, 2021.
Watch List SZN Continues ...
• Taylor Soule was one of 20 players to be named to the watch list for the 2021 Cheryl Miller Award. Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year and Class of 1995 Hall of Famer, the annual award in its fourth year recognizes the top small forwards in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
• A Preseason All-ACC selection, Soule is coming off a breakout sophomore season and was named the 2019-20 ACC's Most Improved Player.
• College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In early February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2021 Cheryl Miller Award will be narrowed to just 10. In early March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Miller and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
Offensive Explosion
• Boston College led the ACC last season in scoring with 73.7 points per game. The Eagles ranked 30th out of 349 teams nationally as well in scoring.
• BC returns four of its leading five scorers from last season's squad. Juniors Taylor Soule (14.5 ppg), Makayla Dickens (10.4 ppg), Marnelle Garraud (9.8 ppg) and Cameron Swartz (9.0 ppg) return to the hardwood for the Eagles this season.
• The Eagles scored 90 or more points in three games last season, including an ACC single-game best of 109 versus Delaware State.
Looking Back at Last Season
• BC was third in the ACC in field goal percentage a season ago. The Eagles shot 44.1% from the field, trailing only Louisville and Florida State in the conference.
• The Eagles ranked fifth in the ACC shooting 32.6% from behind the three-point arc.
• Boston College averaged 14.75 assists per game a season ago, third-best in the ACC.
• The Eagles recorded 8.03 steals per game, fourth in the ACC in 2019-20.
• BC's 13.69 offensive rebounds per game ranked fourth in the ACC in 2019-20.
• Taylor Soule was 11th in the ACC in scoring with 14.5 points per game a season ago. She was named the ACC's Most Improved Player for her efforts as a sophomore.
• Soule was fifth in the conference in field goal percentage last year (54.0%). Emma Guy led the league shooting 59.4% from the field.
• Makayla Dickens (3.78) and Marnelle Garraud (3.72) ranked ninth and 10th respectively in the ACC in assists per game in 2019-20.
• Soule finished 13th in the ACC shooting 72 percent from the foul line last season.
• Dickens drilled 62 from behind the arc in 2019-20, ninth-best in the ACC. Garraud was not too far behind, connecting on 56 three's, good for 13th in the ACC.
• Soule was second in the conference with 3.03 offensive rebounds per contest while Dickens was 14th and Garraud was 15th in the ACC in assist to turnover ratio.
Double-Double
• Taylor Soule leads all BC players with 12 career double-doubles. She has two so far this season.
• Her 10 double-doubles ranked tied for fifth in the ACC a season ago.
29 points, 13 rebounds vs. UMass (11/29/20)
22 points, 12 rebounds vs. New Hampshire (11/25/20)
11 points, 11 rebounds at Louisville (2/27/20)
22 points, 12 rebounds vs Pittsburgh (2/20/20)
29 points, 12 rebounds vs North Carolina (2/16/20)
20 points, 10 rebounds vs Notre Dame (2/13/20)
15 points, 11 rebounds vs Wake Forest (2/02/20)
11 points, 10 rebounds at Florida St. (1/30/20)
13 points, 11 rebounds at Georgia Tech (1/19/20)
14 points, 10 rebounds vs Virginia (1/12/20)
19 points, 12 rebounds at Notre Dame (1/9/20)
23 points, 16 rebounds vs Delaware St. (12/20/19)
