Swartz's Resiliency Leading Undefeated Eagles

Cameron Swartz's basketball career hasn't always crossed the easiest road. Yes, she's a starting junior on one of the nation's hottest college basketball teams, and the junior sharpshooter led BC last Wednesday when she scored a team-high 16 points with five rebounds in Boston College's 58-46 win over Providence. Her team is undefeated at 3-0, and the turning heads already envision a national tournament run for the Eagles.

Swartz just knows it's not a given, and she understands it better than anyone. The Marietta, Georgia native is a transfer on her second stop in her college basketball journey, and each offseason mounted an obstacle for her to overcome. It's taught her toughness and resilience and brought the attributes to her game last week against the Friars.

"I definitely haven't had the most normal college career," she said before the season. "I had heart surgery my freshman year at Colorado and then transferred and sat out a little bit before getting eligibility right before a game. Then COVID (hit this offseason). I haven't had that normal offseason for college basketball, but I just think it's something that lets me not take the game for granted. It makes me stronger in that way to realize I have this chance and opportunity to put in extra work and give (basketball) all I have."

Swartz's numbers reflect that work and a reminder of her player profile. She was a two-time All-State selection in Georgia and a Class A1 first team selection as a senior after averaging 32.1 points per game for Fellowship Christian, and the Peach State's leading scorer led the AAU Team Elite program to the 2017 Nike National EYBL Platinum championship. A three-sport athlete and a state champion on the soccer field, she committed to Colorado out of high school to play for the Buffaloes two years after they advanced to the WNIT Third Round.

She saw only limited minutes for Colorado following heart surgery, though, and opted to transfer to Boston College in January of her freshman year. She enrolled immediately and expected her eligibility to resume for the second half of last year, but a waiver appeal granted just before the first game put her on the court for the opening game win over UMass Lowell.

Swartz immediately blossomed by posting four rebounds, three assists and three steals with four points in 18 minutes against the River Hawks, and head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee inserted her into the starting lineup one game later. Granted the opportunity, she scored 18 points and touched off a run with double figures in 11 of the next 14 games. Her scoring numbers dipped in ACC play, but her presence as a shooting threat allowed her to finish the season with almost a full third of her made baskets from three point land.

Those numbers, the ones when she would hit three pointers but not necessarily produce the eye-popping numbers, carried over into this season when she scored eight and 10 points against New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Her game last Wednesday blew the lid off both of those, though, and she led the Eagles to a hard-fought win over an upset-minded Providence roster by incorporating a full chorus of skills against the Friars.

"Cam is one of those special players that can score in so many different ways as long as she doesn't limit herself," McNamee said, "and as long as she plays defense. That's where I saw her biggest improvement. Some people might look at her and see some great things offensively, but I can't wait to show her a highlight film of all the things she did well defensively. That really sparked her because she knew she made great plays defensively, and her mojo came with her when she knew she was doing things on both ends of the floor.

"Plus it keeps her out of hot water with me," the coach laughed, "when she's doing the right things on the defensive side of the floor."

Last Wednesday, Swartz specifically drew an assignment against Olivia Orlando, a reliable starter for the Friars with a strong length to her game. She led Providence in rebounding four times last year and recorded two double-digit rebound games when she grabbed 10 and 14 against Monmouth and Rhode Island, respectively. The dual threat posted a .492 field-goal percentage last year and started this season with at least six rebounds in every game.

"She's a left hand driver," Swartz said, "and that means I played my defense straight up. If she's going left, she won't want to go back to her right, so I know I can take that charge. That helps my defense because I know I can help off and help teammates. I can stay in the paint more and help our posts, and knowing the other team really helped me. Last year, I wasn't confident with my defense, and I worked hard on it over the summer. I think understanding the team and the players helped (me) have that confidence to play them, get those steals and turnovers that really add up."

Orlando grabbed six rebounds but was limited to three shot attempts, and Swartz finished the game with a plus-8 overall rating in 31 minutes. It anchored her offensive performance, where she grabbed three of her five boards and limited her turnovers. It was a breakout performance amidst a game where neither team shot great and opened the door to her potential moving forward.

"That's what Cam can do," McNamee said. "She settles sometimes as a one-dimensional three-point shooter, but she can post people up. We have to use her versatility and she has to have confidence in her versatility. I hope this game brings it out in her game because we are not shooting well on three pointers right now. I want us to keep shooting because we make those shots (in practice). We just have to get to a point where we make a shot in the game."

Boston College is next on the court today when it plays UMass-Lowell at 2 p.m. at Conte Forum. The game can be seen via the ACC Network Extra on the ESPN online streaming platform.

Swartz's Resiliency Leading Undefeated Eagles

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Cameron Swartz

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