With under seven minutes remaining in the third quarter of Boston College women’s basketball’s matchup against No. 18 Louisville, BC guard Dontavia Waggoner snatched the ball away from Louisville’s Olivia Cochran and leapt toward the basket, finishing with her right hand and absorbing the contact.
The basket cut the Eagles’ deficit to eight points, providing BC with a glimmer of hope and displaying the squad’s fight in a game that ultimately ended as the program’s second-worst loss of the season.
“What’s crazy is the five minutes that we kind of let our guard down a little bit, that translated into 20 points for this team,“ BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said.
Despite high-intensity defense and improved 3-point shooting, BC (11–10, 3–5 Atlantic Coast) failed to take care of the ball and generate rebounds on both sides of the floor, leading to an 88–60 defeat to Louisville (17–3, 6–1) in KFC Yum! Center on Thursday night.
The Eagles struggled early on, allowing Louisville to gain a 10–4 advantage just two minutes into the contest. Their defense couldn’t match the physicality of Cochran, who logged 10 points in the game—six of which came in the first quarter off 3-of-4 shooting.
BC responded to the early run with 3-pointers from Kaylah Ivey and Teya Sidberry that made it a 12–10 game with 5:26 left in the period. The Eagles shot 35.3 percent from beyond the arc throughout the game.
But the Cardinals refused to waver defensively, forcing seven BC turnovers in the first quarter.
“We had some unforced turnovers,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “Silly things, like throwing bullets into the post that are kind of uncatchable passes or throwing outlets that are too wide left or right.”
Despite the turnovers, BC’s formidable defensive play eventually forced Louisville into rushed shots and an abundance of one-on-one play that kept the Cardinals within striking distance, down 18–13 heading into the second quarter.
BC’s defense also sparked offensive success in the second quarter. The Eagles shot 7 of 8 as a team in the first six minutes of the second to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 27–26, led by the physicality of Nene Ndiaye. The freshman forward tallied nine points in the quarter on 3-of-3 shooting and two free throws.
“She looked tough,” Bernabei-McNamee said of Ndiaye’s performance. “She looked mean and she always mixes it up on the boards, and I thought today defensively she took that next step in being a better defender.”
Louisville absorbed the Eagles’ punch and responded with a haymaker of its own, ending the half on a 12–5 run. The Cardinals racked up rebounds, hit their jumpers, and wore down the Eagles’ defense. Louisville grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the quarter, giving the Cardinals a 39–31 lead entering the locker room.
”We had to be a lot tougher on the boards,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “I think that’s something that will grow from this game.”
Things continued to go downhill for BC in the third quarter. The Eagles struggled to make free throws, turned the ball over, and did not make a 3-pointer in the entire quarter.
Through BC’s offensive struggles, Louisville took advantage every step of the way. Kiki Jefferson caught fire with 11 points in the quarter, with seven coming from the free-throw line.
With 2:51 remaining, the Eagles faced a nine-point deficit, but could no longer handle the offensive firepower of the Cardinals, who ended the quarter with a 10–2 run to expand the gap to 17 points.
From that point on, the Cardinals never looked back, seemingly hitting every jump shot and open layup in sight for the entirety of the fourth quarter. Jefferson continued her dominance offensively, finishing the game with a season-high 27 points. Elif Istanbulluoglu contributed to 11 out of 31 bench points for Louisville in the matchup.
“He’s got kids coming off his bench that would start for most eight ACC teams,” Bernabei-McNamee said, referencing Louisville head coach Jeff Walz. “When he does his rotations, it’s just good player after good player.”
BC, despite finishing with four players in double-digit scoring, could not generate any momentum with its passing or shooting in the final quarter, losing to the Cardinals by 28 points.
“It’s a loud, exciting environment,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “I think that we looked a little bit shaken by it here and there.”
