Familiar Bell Ringing Before Season Finale
February 24, 2021 | Women's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
That's the sound of BC's momentum picking up steam after last weekend's win
Joanna Bernabei-McNamee just kept staring at Ally VanTimmeren's feet. The Boston College freshman - a high school super senior, really - was trying to post up against Georgia Tech center Nerea Hermosa with 37 seconds left in a one possession game. Eight seconds remained on the shot clock, and VanTimmeren's options to move quickly diminished in her pivot. She was too far away from the basket to make a low post move but too close to for a true jump shot. The ball was coming to her, but she had virtually nowhere to go with it.
So VanTimmeren did what any basketball player's instincts taught and drove the basket. She backed Hermosa down and hastily turned a post move as the shot clock wound under five. Her right leg slipped, but her left leg never moved as she flailed low on the defender.
She dipped, and Hermosa reached with a wild box out. Her arms shot up quickly on VanTimmeren and created contact as the freshman skidded backwards. The ball ricocheted off the backboard and rattled the inner front rim, and everyone braced for a potential rebound. Taylor Soule stood behind VanTimmeren, and Cameron Swartz was on the right block, but nobody's words could be heard over the sound of a whistle calling a foul.
They likely didn't hear the whistle, either. There were too many cheers on the floor and on the bench as the ball dropped through the nylon.
Bucket: good. Game: iced. Less than a minute later, score: final. Boston College 49, Georgia Tech 43.
"One of our sayings that we talk about every game is how we try to act like we're down two with 40 seconds left in the game," Bernabei-McNamee said. "That's whether we have to have that kind of precision on offense or the way we have to play defense without fouling. I was so proud of our lockdown mode and our intensity in the fourth quarter, and I thought our rebounding really picked up as far as trying to grab the board and secure them (to deny) second chances. I was really proud of that intensity and fight."
It was a necessary win that broke BC's month-long doldrums, even though it wasn't exactly orchestral basketball. Neither team shot better than 35 percent, and both teams struggled from beyond the arc. They combined for five made three-pointers, including a 3-for-18 performance by the Yellow Jackets, and likewise only combined for 20 attempted free throws. Of the 108 field goals taken across the four quarters, 36 dropped through the hoop with 20 cloaked in maroon and gold.
The teams combined for 17 points in the first quarter before BC built a seven-point lead in the second quarter. That advantage quickly evaporated in the third quarter when Georgia Tech scored a game-high 21 points by going 8-for-14 from the field and 2-for-5 on three pointers, but it tilted back to the home side when the Eagles prevented the Yellow Jackets from hitting a basket in the fourth quarter.
"Coming out of halftime all year, whether it's worked or not, we have to keep our foot on the gas," Taylor Soule said. "It doesn't really matter how you played in the first half because you have to take (an opponent) out in the third (quarter), but we tripped on our feet a little bit coming out of the gate (in the second half). Then in the fourth, we realized that (our team) came so far, that we're really great and can definitely beat Georgia Tech. So we worked really hard and played with that mentality for the rest of the quarter to get the stops. That was a big emphasis for us in the timeouts, to get rebounds and box out while working for easy baskets on offense."
The low offensive numbers papered over BC's better analytics that minimized fouls and turnovers compared to Georgia Tech. The Eagles posted six steals defensively and added nine assists, and the entire team contributed in some capacity.
Swartz led the team's scoring with 23 points, but she drew nine fouls and went a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line. She also grabbed seven rebounds to match Soule for the team lead while dishing two assists, second on the team to only Kaylah Ivey's four helpers off the bench.
Soule added 13 points to round off the players in double figures, but seven players hit at least one field goal and grabbed multiple boards. The team committed 16 fouls but nobody went over three hurts on the floor, and almost everybody finished the game on the plus side of their time on the court.
"Coach says to(always) play like we're down two with 40 seconds left," Swartz said. "We have been doing that for the first part of the game but needed to do it for the full game, and I believe we did that for the whole game this time. It was a relief, and it was great. Everyone contributed and did their own thing. We all got this one together."
It was a case of BC steadily escalating pressure on Georgia Tech before culminating the game with a last second bucket. It offered relief to the pressure built by the team's consecutive losses against Pittsburgh and Miami but further exalted the road back from six postponements in seven games.
The win wiped out a winless streak dating back to a win over Notre Dame in January and rang a familiar bell for the ACC. It moved the Eagles to within a game of 12th place with one game left on the schedule, and it built positive momentum even though BC is locked into the opening day game in next week's conference bracket.
"This has been such a crazy year for every basketball program in the country, for every household, for every person," Bernabei-McNamee said. "This month, we'll mark a whole year that we've been in this isolation and that COVID has been around. For us, if there's ever going to be a year where an underdog can shake things up and make something happen, it could be this year. It's a crazy year, and that's what we're trying to do and get our players to buy into. I don't even think I have to try to. They're (already) buying in."
Boston College will finish its regular season on Thursday against Syracuse in a game scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. The game can be seen on ACC Network.
So VanTimmeren did what any basketball player's instincts taught and drove the basket. She backed Hermosa down and hastily turned a post move as the shot clock wound under five. Her right leg slipped, but her left leg never moved as she flailed low on the defender.
She dipped, and Hermosa reached with a wild box out. Her arms shot up quickly on VanTimmeren and created contact as the freshman skidded backwards. The ball ricocheted off the backboard and rattled the inner front rim, and everyone braced for a potential rebound. Taylor Soule stood behind VanTimmeren, and Cameron Swartz was on the right block, but nobody's words could be heard over the sound of a whistle calling a foul.
They likely didn't hear the whistle, either. There were too many cheers on the floor and on the bench as the ball dropped through the nylon.
Bucket: good. Game: iced. Less than a minute later, score: final. Boston College 49, Georgia Tech 43.
"One of our sayings that we talk about every game is how we try to act like we're down two with 40 seconds left in the game," Bernabei-McNamee said. "That's whether we have to have that kind of precision on offense or the way we have to play defense without fouling. I was so proud of our lockdown mode and our intensity in the fourth quarter, and I thought our rebounding really picked up as far as trying to grab the board and secure them (to deny) second chances. I was really proud of that intensity and fight."
It was a necessary win that broke BC's month-long doldrums, even though it wasn't exactly orchestral basketball. Neither team shot better than 35 percent, and both teams struggled from beyond the arc. They combined for five made three-pointers, including a 3-for-18 performance by the Yellow Jackets, and likewise only combined for 20 attempted free throws. Of the 108 field goals taken across the four quarters, 36 dropped through the hoop with 20 cloaked in maroon and gold.
The teams combined for 17 points in the first quarter before BC built a seven-point lead in the second quarter. That advantage quickly evaporated in the third quarter when Georgia Tech scored a game-high 21 points by going 8-for-14 from the field and 2-for-5 on three pointers, but it tilted back to the home side when the Eagles prevented the Yellow Jackets from hitting a basket in the fourth quarter.
"Coming out of halftime all year, whether it's worked or not, we have to keep our foot on the gas," Taylor Soule said. "It doesn't really matter how you played in the first half because you have to take (an opponent) out in the third (quarter), but we tripped on our feet a little bit coming out of the gate (in the second half). Then in the fourth, we realized that (our team) came so far, that we're really great and can definitely beat Georgia Tech. So we worked really hard and played with that mentality for the rest of the quarter to get the stops. That was a big emphasis for us in the timeouts, to get rebounds and box out while working for easy baskets on offense."
The low offensive numbers papered over BC's better analytics that minimized fouls and turnovers compared to Georgia Tech. The Eagles posted six steals defensively and added nine assists, and the entire team contributed in some capacity.
Swartz led the team's scoring with 23 points, but she drew nine fouls and went a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line. She also grabbed seven rebounds to match Soule for the team lead while dishing two assists, second on the team to only Kaylah Ivey's four helpers off the bench.
Soule added 13 points to round off the players in double figures, but seven players hit at least one field goal and grabbed multiple boards. The team committed 16 fouls but nobody went over three hurts on the floor, and almost everybody finished the game on the plus side of their time on the court.
"Coach says to(always) play like we're down two with 40 seconds left," Swartz said. "We have been doing that for the first part of the game but needed to do it for the full game, and I believe we did that for the whole game this time. It was a relief, and it was great. Everyone contributed and did their own thing. We all got this one together."
It was a case of BC steadily escalating pressure on Georgia Tech before culminating the game with a last second bucket. It offered relief to the pressure built by the team's consecutive losses against Pittsburgh and Miami but further exalted the road back from six postponements in seven games.
The win wiped out a winless streak dating back to a win over Notre Dame in January and rang a familiar bell for the ACC. It moved the Eagles to within a game of 12th place with one game left on the schedule, and it built positive momentum even though BC is locked into the opening day game in next week's conference bracket.
"This has been such a crazy year for every basketball program in the country, for every household, for every person," Bernabei-McNamee said. "This month, we'll mark a whole year that we've been in this isolation and that COVID has been around. For us, if there's ever going to be a year where an underdog can shake things up and make something happen, it could be this year. It's a crazy year, and that's what we're trying to do and get our players to buy into. I don't even think I have to try to. They're (already) buying in."
Boston College will finish its regular season on Thursday against Syracuse in a game scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. The game can be seen on ACC Network.
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