BC, Notre Dame Meet Again on the Hardwood Sunday
January 16, 2021 | Women's Basketball
Eagles look for the season sweep for the second straight year
BC and Notre Dame Meet for the Second Time
• Boston College finishes out a three-game road trip with its second meeting of the season versus Notre Dame Sunday at noon inside Purcell Pavilion.
• ACC Network has coverage of the game with Jenn Hildreth and Kelly Gramlich on the call.
• For the first time in school history, Boston College won for the third straight time against the Fighting Irish with a 64-61 comeback victory on Jan. 7 inside Conte Forum.
• BC played its fourth ranked opponent of the season - and the third game against a team ranked in the top three - Thursday at No. 2 Louisville (L, 89-70).
• Notre Dame got back on track Thursday afternoon following a 79-72 win over Wake Forest at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish used a big second quarter to build their lead and never looked back as they got back above .500 in ACC play.
• 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
• Second-ranked Louisville made 10 three-point field goals and shot 56.7 percent from the field as the host Cardinals captured an 89-70 victory over Boston College Thursday night.
• BC battled the No. 2 team in the country for 40 minutes as freshman Ally VanTimmeren and junior Cameron Swartz each had 17 points for the visitors. The 17 points were a career-high for VanTimmeren, the youngest player in the ACC who just joined BC in December after graduating early from high school.
• Makayla Dickens joined VanTimmeren and Swartz in double-figures with 13 points, including three-of-six from behind the arc.
Last Time vs. Notre Dame
• Boston College used a frenetic 16-1 run over the final 2:35 as the Eagles stormed back for a 64-61 victory over Notre Dame on Jan. 7. BC's comeback effort was on full display as the Eagles held the Fighting Irish without a field goal for the final 5:33 of the game to erase a 12-point deficit with just over four minutes to play.
• With the win, it marked the first time in series history BC has won three straight versus Notre Dame.
• Junior Taylor Soule led the charge with 21 points and eight rebounds as the Eagles improved to 5-4 overall and 1-4 in the ACC while ND dropped to 5-5 on the season and 3-3 in conference play.
• Junior Makayla Dickens caught fire in the second half scoring 15 points, including three from downtown.
• The Eagles found themselves down 14 points with 5:33 remaining in the game before closing the game out on a 16-1 run led by Marnelle Garraud and Dickens. Junior Cameron Swartz's layup with 10 seconds remaining proved to be the difference as BC completed the comeback.
• Garraud was one of three Eagles in double-figures with 11 points. She drained two key three-point field goals in the fourth quarter for the victors.
Last Time at Notre Dame
• Senior Emma Guy and sophomore Taylor Soule each recorded a double-double to lead Boston College past Notre Dame, 75-65 last January.
• Guy was 5-of-11 from the floor and finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Soule shot 6-for-9 from the floor, grabbed 12 boards with three assists for a team-high 19 points. Cameron Swartz added 14 points, while senior Georgia Pineau pitched in with 10 points.
• It was the 30th meeting between Boston College and Notre Dame and the first time since 2006 the Eagles defeated Notre Dame.
• It was the first time BC won at the Purcell Pavilion in series history.
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.
Inside the Notre Dame Series
• Boston College is 8-24 all-time against Notre Dame, but the Eagles have won three straight against the Irish.
• Sunday's game marks the 33rd all-time meeting between the two schools. BC is 1-14 all-time at Notre Dame.
• A win Sunday would be the fourth straight in the series for the Eagles, which has never been done in school history.
Playing the Nation's Best
• Boston College has played the nation's sixth toughest schedule among Power 5 schools. The Eagles' past opposition has a winning percentage of 67.6 on the season.
• BC is the only school in the ACC to play all three of the conference's three ranked teams in this week's AP Top 25 poll - No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 NC State and No. 24 Syracuse.
Toughest Power 5 Schedules
Team Past Opposition Record
1. South Carolina 93-23 (802)
2. Kentucky 94-38 (.712)
3. Georgia Tech 77-32 (.706)
4. LSU 69-29 (.704)
5. Illinois 65-30 (.684)
6. Boston College 73-35 (.676)
From High School to the Heights
• Freshman forward Ally VanTimmeren was set to play her senior year of high school in 2020-21 before COVID-19 cancelled her high school season.
• VanTimmeren made the decision to graduate early from Jenison High School in Michigan and enroll early at Boston College for the second semester. With just two practices under her belt after arriving at BC on Dec. 26, VanTimmeren had an impressive debut in her collegiate debut Jan. 3 at No. 3 NC State.
• VanTimmeren is the second youngest player in the ACC this season after she just turned 18 in November.
• She finished with 10 points, six rebounds and connected on two three-point field goals against the third-ranked Wolfpack.
• Against No. 2 Louisville, VanTimmeren finished with a career-high 17 points.
• VanTimmeren was rated a four-star prospect according to ESPN. She ranked 17th nationally at her position in the ESPN rankings.
• A 1,000-point scorer, she was a three-year varsity starter for the Wildcats. She averaged 20.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and four blocked shots per game as a junior.
News and Notes (As of Jan. 15)
• Boston College is seventh in the nation and second in the ACC in free throw percentage (80.6 percent).
• The Eagles rank fourth in the ACC with 141 free throws made this season.
• The Eagles are second in the conference with 19.6 turnovers forced per game.
• BC's 108 steals rank 27th nationally and first in the ACC. The Eagles' 9.8 steals per game rank second in the conference.
• The Eagles rank fifth in the ACC in three-point field goal defense (27.4).
• The Eagles are second in the ACC in turnover margin (+3.18).
• BC's 69 made three-point field goals fifth-best in the ACC.
• Taylor Soule is first in the ACC and 20th nationally in free throws made (54). She is first in the ACC and 26th nationally in free throws attempted (67).
• Marnelle Garraud is first in the ACC and 12th in the country with 30 steals this season. She ranks second in the ACC and 46th nationally with 2.73 steals per game.
• Garraud is fourth in the ACC with 352:06 minutes played this season.
• Makayla Dickens is ninth in the conference shooting 39.4 percent from behind the arc.
• Dickens' 26 three-point field goals are the fifth-most by any player in the ACC this season.
Welcome to the Show JoJo
• True freshman JoJo Lacey missed the first five games of the season with an ankle injury before making her BC debut against No. 3 NC State on Dec. 13.
• A five-star recruit according to ESPN, Lacey was rated sixth at her position nationally coming out of high school.
• A top-100 recruit, Lacey averaged 12.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game as a senior at Westtown High School in Pennsylvania.
From Way Downtown, Bang
• Junior guard Makayla Dickens has been one of the ACC's best shooters in 2020-21. She is third on the team averaging 11.9 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds per game.
• Dickens leads BC with 26 three-point field goals this season and is shooting 38.2 percent from behind the arc.
• She is 10th in Boston College history with 150 made three-point field goals.
• Against No. 3 NC State on Dec. 13, Dickens led the Eagles with 20 points and connected on six three-pointers against the Wolfpack.
• In the 64-61 win versus Notre Dame on Jan. 7, she caught fire in the second half, leading BC with 15 points in the comeback victory.
Doing it All
• Junior point guard Marnelle Garraud has become one of the elite defenders in the country. The Lynn native is 12th in the nation and leads the ACC with 30 steals this season.
• Her 141 career steals rank 13th in BC history and she is just eight steals shy of joining the top 10 in school history.
• Her 224 career assists rank 28th in BC history.
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 set a new career-best in scoring against No. 18 Syracuse, scoring 19 points.
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.
Double-Double
• Taylor Soule leads BC with 12 career double-doubles. She has two to start the season.
• Her 10 double-doubles ranked tied for fifth in the ACC a season ago.
