Boston College women’s basketball had compiled a 55–26 advantage to end the first half of its Wednesday night game against Bryant. But playing with such a large lead has hardly been a rarity for the Eagles in their recent homestand, as they have now outscored their last five opponents by a combined 206 points.
“We had a lot of games to grow from, and now we had a lot of games to build our confidence,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee. “Now I think hopefully we can go into ACC as a total package team that’s ready to go.”
Despite Bryant (6–6) entering the night on a three-game win streak, BC (8–5) routed the Bulldogs in a dominant offensive performance. The contest marked the Eagles’ last game before heading into ACC play.
Andrea Daley led the Eagles from tipoff, scoring 11 quick points in the first quarter. She didn’t stop there, though, and ended the game as BC’s leading scorer with 19 points––nearly all of which were scored off powerful moves in the paint.
With 7:35 left in the game, Kaylah Ivey got the ball to Daley in the paint. Daley drop-stepped through defenders and banked the ball in, drawing a foul in the process.
Dontavia Waggoner was also a major contributor offensively, and finished the game perfect from the field on six shots. Waggoner’s impact, however, was not limited to scoring.
Aside from her 16-point performance, she racked up five steals and forced several of Bryant’s 32 turnovers, giving BC the chance to pick up several easy buckets in transition.
“Getting steals helps us build our defensive intensity and makes us pick up energy every time,” Waggoner said.
With 6:46 left in the third quarter, Waggoner stole the ball and completed a bounce pass across the lane to T’yana Todd, who finished the layup to give BC a 65–32 lead.
Ivey’s passing abilities were also key for the Eagles. She finished the game with 12 assists, which allowed BC to develop an efficient offensive rhythm, particularly in transition.
“Kaylah Ivey made some great decisions in the open court,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “Especially in the first half, we really shared the ball well.”
Despite the Eagles dominating the scoreboard for almost the entire game, their defense appeared sloppy at times, allowing Bryant’s Mariona Planes Fortuny, Mia Mancini, and Nia Scott to score. The trio combined for 48 of Bryant’s 57 points.
With 9:15 left in the third quarter, Mancini made a 3-pointer to reduce BC’s lead to make the score 58–29. Just over a minute later, she hit from behind the arc again.
Later in the third quarter, Planes Fortuny went on a scoring run, picking up eight points in under four minutes. With just over a minute left, she scored a layup that gave her 1000 career points.
“I’m not going to make excuses for them, we gotta play better defense,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “There were moments when our defense looked as good as it has all year, and there were other moments where we could’ve been a little bit sharper.”
BC held on to its large lead, however, and Todd took a charge on the baseline with 6:37 left in the game, which fouled Planes Fortuny out.
The Bulldogs’ offensive struggles continued with the absence of their leading scorer, and BC closed them out with ease.
“I was proud not only of their stamina, but of their intensity and their ability to be here now and lock in on the game,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
