BC, Notre Dame Renew Rivalry Thursday Night
January 05, 2021 | Women's Basketball
Eagles look for third straight win over the Irish
BC, Notre Dame Renew Rivalry Thursday Night
• Boston College and Notre Dame meet for the 32nd time in series history Thursday night at 8 p.m. inside Conte Forum.
• ACC Network has coverage of the game with Jenn Hildreth and Debbie Antonelli on the call.
• With a win Thursday, BC would capture its third straight victory against the Irish for the first time in series history.
• BC has played just four games over the last month, three of them coming against ranked opponents (twice against No. 3 NC State, No. 18/16 Syracuse).
• BC returns to the road Sunday as the Eagles visit Wake Forest at 4 p.m. on ACC Network. BC was originally scheduled to play Sunday at home versus Duke, but the Blue Devils opted out of the season.
• 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
• No. 3/3 NC State remained undefeated on the season as the Wolfpack defeated visiting Boston College 76-57 Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack moved to 10-0 overall and 5-0 in ACC play while the Eagles dropped to 4-4 overall and 0-4 in conference play.
• NC State center Elissa Cunane led all scorers in Sunday's game with 24 points on 9-of-9 shooting while adding eight rebounds.
• "We played hard and we played with our hearts for the majority of the game," said Boston College head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee after the game. "I just don't think we always played smart out there, especially when we're playing the number three team in the country. I thought NC State played physical, played hard and they also played smart."
• Juniors Taylor Soule and Cameron Swartz led BC in scoring with 14 points each.
Last Time vs. Notre Dame
• Senior Emma Guy hit a layup at the buzzer to give Boston College a come from behind victory over Notre Dame, 56-55, in an ACC game at Conte Forum.
• This was the first time Boston College has defeated Notre Dame twice in the same season.
• Guy finished with 12 points and nine rebounds while sophomore Taylor Soule had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Senior Georgia Pineau pitched in with 13 points, 11 in the second half. Sophomore Makayla Dickens pitched in with nine rebounds and four assists.
• Destinee Walker led Notre Dame with 21 points and nine rebounds.
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 7-24 all-time against Notre Dame, but the Eagles have won two straight against the Irish.
• Thursday's game marks the 32nd all-time meeting between the two schools. BC is 5-10 at home against Notre Dame.
• BC has won two straight against Notre Dame two times in 31 meetings. The Eagles have never won three in a row against Notre Dame.
• Prior to last year's 56-55 win at home against Notre Dame, the last victory at Conte Forum over Notre Dame for the Eagles dated back to 76-48 result on January 29, 2003.
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.
• She finished with 10 points, six rebounds and connected on two three-point field goals against the third-ranked Wolfpack.
• VanTimmeren was rated a four-star prospect according to ESPN. She ranked 17th nationally at her position in the ESPN rankings.
• She was listed as the No. 44 prospect nationally in the class of 2021 by Blue Star Basketball and the No. 10 prospect at her position in the country according to Dan Olson Collegiate Report.
• Prospect Nation's No. 76 prospect in the country, she was a three-year letterwinner and three-time all-conference selection at Jenison High School.
• 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
• Boston College is eighth in the nation and second in the ACC in free throw percentage (81.7 percent).
• The Eagles rank 64th nationally and fifth in the ACC with 116 free throws made this season.
• The Eagles are 44th in the country and first in the conference with 20.6 turnovers forced per game.
• BC's 79 steals rank 45th nationally and second in the ACC. The Eagles' 9.9 steals per game rank second in the conference.
• The Eagles rank fourth in the ACC and 36th nationally in three-point field goal defense (25.0).
• The Eagles are 45th nationally and second in the ACC in turnover margin (+4.0).
• Taylor Soule is first in the ACC and 24th nationally in free throws made (42). She is first in the ACC and 29th nationally in free throws attempted (52).
• Clara Ford is ninth in the ACC shooting 84.6 percent from the free throw line.
• Soule is fifth in the ACC with 16.4 points per game.
• Marnelle Garraud is second in the ACC and 40th nationally with 2.88 steals per game. Garraud's 23 steals rank 23rd nationally and second in the ACC.
• Kaylah Ivey is fourth in the ACC with 15 steals.
• Makayla Dickens is sixth in the conference shooting 41.9 percent from behind the arc.
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 11.1 points per game along with 5.0 rebounds per game.
• Dickens leads BC with 18 three-point field goals this season and is shooting 41.9 percent from behind the arc.
• She is 11th in Boston College history with 142 made three-point field goals. With two more three-point field goals, she will move into the top 10 in BC history.
• Against No. 3 NC State on Dec. 13, Dickens led the Eagles with 20 points and connected on six three-pointers against the Wolfpack.
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.
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.
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.
2019-20 ACC Scoring Leaders
Team Points Per Game
1. Boston College 73.7
2. North Carolina 73.1
3. Louisville 72.8
2019-20 ACC Most Points Scored in a Game
Team Points
1. Boston College vs. Delaware St. (12.20.19) 109
2. Boston College vs. St. Fran. Brooklyn (11.10.19) 106
Wake Forest vs. Col. of Charleston (11.8.19) 106
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.
