Boston College women’s basketball was facing a three-game losing streak when it headed into its ACC opener against Virginia on Sunday afternoon, looking to end its five-game road trip with a win.
The Eagles started their game against the Cavaliers with aggression offensively, allowing them to take control off the bat. Virginia brought the game within one, but the Eagles never relinquished their initial lead, and held a 13-point going into halftime.
BC refused to let up with their dominant play, and the Eagles (7–4, 1–0 Atlantic Coast) coasted into a 72–57 win over Virginia (6–5, 0–1).
“I think that a big part of the team’s play today was their togetherness,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said.
T’yana Todd established herself early, scoring 14 points in the first period alone. She ended the game with a team-high 21 points.
“A big part of my play is just staying confident in my shot,” Todd said. Obviously I got a lot of looks off and I was able to knock them down. So mainly just being able to have confidence to put that shot in.”
Teya Sidberry, who had a career-best 13 rebounds and scored 17 points against the Razorbacks in Thursday’s loss, followed up on that performance with 12 points and seven rebounds in Sunday’s victory.
“I think in practice we’re emphasizing doing the little things like rebounding and 50/50 balls,” Sidberry said. “So I’m kind of trying to just focus on that, because that’s what gives me energy for other parts of my game. And that’s always my first focus.”
Dontavia Waggoner also shined in the win, but on the defensive side. She led the Eagles with six steals.
To start off the second quarter, BC retained its lead and began to run away with the game, stretching its lead to 15 at one point.
The Eagles did so by getting up on defense and forcing turnovers on UVA. The Cavaliers had turned the ball over 22 times by the end of the game, and BC scored 29 points off turnovers.
Off the bench, Todd and freshman Tatum Greene accounted for 28 of the Eagles’ points. BC tallied 33 total bench points compared to the Cavaliers’ 14.
“For me, it felt like I had everybody on the bench coaching with me,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
Meanwhile, the Eagles shared the ball on offense as nine different Eagles got on the board. BC scored the most points it has in the last four games, leading to its 15-point win in its first conference game of the season.
“Everybody out on the court was sticking together, no matter who I put in,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “And that, as a coach, just gives me so much confidence.”
