Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we’ll be taking a look at the previous seven days in the world of Boston College athletics, along with a brief look at the week ahead for the Eagles. In the past week, we’ve seen:
Men’s Basketball Escapes Winston-Salem Victorious
Fresh off an upset over then-No.11 Florida State in which Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman combined for 54 points, BC traveled down to Winston-Salem, N.C., seeking a second straight ACC win, this time against the only team in the conference with a losing overall record. The Eagles jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, but soon found themselves in a dogfight against a Wake Forest team that was determined to make life as difficult as possible for BC, and especially Bowman. It worked for a while, as the junior guard shot just 6-of-15 from the floor, but in the end he found a way to hit the biggest shot of the game, sinking a go-ahead off-balance contested 3-pointer with 15.8 seconds to play to send the Eagles back home victorious. Check out a more detailed recap of the game here.
Also this week in our men’s basketball coverage, if you want to relive the upset win over the Seminoles, check out our look at the 10 biggest plays from the victory here.
Women’s Basketball Suffers Heartbreak in Miami
BC women’s basketball also hit the road this past weekend, flying down to Coral Gables, Fla. to take on Miami, which was the top team in the receiving votes section of this week’s AP Poll and managed to garner the No. 23 slot in the Coaches Poll. Despite this, the Eagles gave the Hurricanes all they could handle, taking a 44-42 lead into halftime and stretching that edge to eight points midway through the third quarter. Unfortunately for BC, a bevy of fouls and sloppiness soon caught up with head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee’s team. Four Eagles players fouled out of the game, and Sydney Lowery committed a crucial turnover on a five-second inbounds violation, with BC trailing, 75-73, with 11 seconds to play that ultimately doomed the Eagles to a heartbreaking loss. Even in a losing effort, Makayla Dickens continued to impress for BC, scoring 12 points and dishing out nine assists. For an in-depth review of the contest, take a look here.
Men’s Hockey Still Can’t Find its Rhythm
Another weekend, yet more inconsistency from BC men’s hockey, which let two winning opportunities slip away against No. 19 UMass Lowell by conceding two third-period goals on Friday and three scores in the final period of Saturday’s contest. David Cotton continues to impress for the Eagles, as he recorded his team-leading 15th goal of the season in a 4-4 tie on Saturday while playing in his 100th career game for BC. Head coach Jerry York also made sure to shout out goaltender Joe Woll, who played through sickness on Friday.
“For being really, really sick Thursday, in doubt, Woll stood up and played another solid game for us in goal,” the longtime Eagles coach remarked post-game on Friday.
Women’s Hockey Continues to Rebound
After a disastrous stretch of the season in which it lost six of seven contests, BC women’s hockey appears to have righted the ship somewhat. In a weekend series against Providence, the Eagles recorded a pair of 4-2 wins, as braces from Delaney Belinskas (Friday) and Lindsay Agnew (Saturday) ensured that BC ran its win streak to five games with a sweep of the Friars. Yet even in a winning effort, issues with special teams abounded for the Eagles, as they conceded three goals on the power play and continued their futility when boasting a man advantage. For more on that, check out my column on the woes.
Men’s and Women’s Tennis Have Contrasting Starts
On the courts, women’s tennis continued its hot start to the season, first sweeping Bryant and Marist in a double-header Saturday before passing its first test of the season against Yale in a Sunday thriller thanks to three consecutive singles wins from Jackie Urbinati, Dasha Possokhova, and Laura Lopez. The Eagles are now 5-0 to start the 2019 campaign.
Men’s tennis played its season opener against St. John’s Friday, but couldn’t find the same success as the women’s team, slumping to a 5-2 defeat. Chris Grasel and Max Palmer recorded a 6-3 doubles victory for the Eagles, while Derek Austin nabbed a victory in straight sets in the number one singles spot. Check out our coverage of the match here.
Moment of the Week: Ky Bowman’s Improbable 3-Pointer Against Wake Forest
One of the craziest parts about this shot? When Bowman took that shot, he was 0-for-5 for the game from downtown and had just missed an open 3-pointer from the left corner a few possessions earlier that would have given BC the lead.
Stat of the Week:
Women’s hockey went 24 consecutive power plays without a goal before Caitrin Lonergan managed to redirect a shot in from the slot Saturday against Providence for an insurance goal. Prior to that, the last time the Eagles scored with the skater advantage was Dec. 7 against Merrimack. Interestingly enough, it was also Lonergan that scored that goal.
What’s Coming Up?
Another busy week for the Eagles kicks off on Wednesday, when men’s basketball starts a double rivalry week with an 8 p.m. tip-off against a Syracuse team that’s just two weeks removed from an upset of No. 1 Duke. After that, BC will also be taking on Notre Dame Saturday. If the Eagles’ contest against Notre Dame from Jan. 12 is anything to judge by, that game should also contain plenty of drama.
Women’s basketball also has two home games this weekend, as it hosts Duke looking to rebound from the loss to Miami. BC’s other game takes place on Sunday, when it plays a Virginia Tech team that is currently 0-7 in the ACC.
On the ice, men’s hockey hits the road for a date with UConn Friday with one eye toward the Beanpot next Monday, where it will face off with Harvard. The Eagles will be looking for their first semifinal win in three seasons. Women’s hockey also plays against Harvard in the Beanpot on Tuesday, but first has a home game against Holy Cross on Friday as it tries to win its sixth consecutive game.
Featured Image by Julia Hopkins / Heights Senior Staff
