Boston College women’s basketball signed 11 new players in the offseason. Many of the new signees were not consistent starters for their teams. And the Eagles’ two players who remained from last year—Athena Tomlinson and Ava McGee—have not played in a game together.
Still, the Eagles’ chemistry seems to be growing in the nearly brand-new roster.
“I feel like we just need to keep spending more time together,” freshman guard Amirah Anderson said. “It’s a new group. Just be confident in the stuff we’re doing, and approach every game as it is, and just have that dog mentality.”
An unflinching mentality will be needed to navigate the ACC, especially considering the Eagles’ shorter and guard-heavy roster. The height deficit was exploited by UConn’s tall forwards in the team’s exhibition match.
“We’ve had a tough time having length the last couple years,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “This year, it’s that same situation, so we definitely are going to have to be guard-heavy.”
In contrast to what BC lacks in height, they possess in shooters.
“We’re trying to feed off of each other’s energy,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “I think one of our strong points this year is going to be our ability to shoot the ball. This team—they’re gelling very well together. The chemistry on the court continues to get better.”
Last year, the Eagles had the third-worst field goal percentage of ACC teams. In practice, individuals’ shooting has shone. More players have been earning the team’s “green light” than at any point last year.
“To put that green light into perspective from my years past here, [the ‘green light’ is] a weekly thing that they get in here on their own to try to attain,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “I mean, you have to be an elite-level shooter.”
The “green light” recognition is not permanent.
“The ‘green light’ only lasts for the week,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “This year, consistently, we’ve had three to four names up on our ‘green light’ board every week. For me as a coach, that means we’re gonna have to generate offense that gets them more open looks.”
The Eagles had the eighth-best three-point percentage in the ACC last year.
T’yana Todd, who transferred from BC to Ohio State in the offseason, was one of the nation’s best shooters from beyond the arc.
BC added Erin Houpt in the offseason. Houpt, like Todd, is a high-percentage three-point shooter with three seasons.
Houpt is coming off a career-best 45 percent three-point percentage with San Diego State. She has shot 91 percent or higher from the free-throw line each year, as well.
“I’ve not really seen a player shoot the ball as well as Erin Houpt does,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “And she puts a lot of time into that, so it doesn’t just come by accident.”
Houpt did not score in 11 minutes against UConn. Bernabei-McNamee gave more playing time to her taller guards against the Huskies. Hompt has also played the second-most DI games, 91, behind only Kayla Rolph, 94.
“It’s been really exciting, because the younger girls are really willing to listen to us, and we also learn from them as well,” Houpt said. “We’re all learning from each other. But it’s been nice being one of the older ones, because I’ve been through it for four years, and they’re, again, really willing to learn.”
The younger players seem to be making an impact. Anderson has infused life into the team.
“I love being energetic,” Anderson said. “I love when someone’s doing good. I feel like that comes from my competitive nature, and it’s something that I’ve been training ever since I was in high school, and I’ve just really grown into that role here. And it’s just a lot of fun. It makes the game fun.”
Bernabei-McNamee called Anderson a “hype man.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s really her personality—she’s not putting on a front,” sophomore guard Tomlinson said. “She’s not doing fake energy, making up. And that’s really how she is as a person. We’re just blessed to have her on our team. You can never bring her down, and she’s always herself.”
Tomlinson will be one Eagle bringing the ball up the court and leading the transition. She played 33 of 34 games last season.
“I think, as a point guard, I need to just make sure I’m an extension of my coach,” Tomlinson said. “So trying to bring [Bernabei-McNamee’s] intelligence and her enthusiasm for the game on the court with everyone else, and just share that, is my priority.”
Even at 5-foot-5, Tomlinson has emerged as a leader for the defense.
“Athena Tomlinson has really been getting up and defending and bringing that—not just vocal energy, but physical energy to pick up the ball full-court, make people better with her defense, but also fire up her team on the defensive end,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
On the other hand, BC’s grad students have sparked excitement.
Graduate student Teionni McDaniel is back in Division I basketball after playing for Georgetown College (NAIA) last year. She posted a 23-point game in the Eagles’ exhibition vs. UConn.
Former BC lacrosse player and 2025 Tewaaraton finalist Emma LoPinto only played a few minutes, but caused the bench to erupt after sinking a three against UConn.
Jocelyne Grier played 25 minutes off the bench in the exhibition match. Lily Carmody played 21 minutes against UConn and grabbed six rebounds. Carmody and Anderson are BC’s tallest guards at 5-foot-11.
Redshirt junior Kaia Henderson transferred from Ohio State. She did not play last season and did not record a start in her two healthy seasons. Rolph, a senior transfer from William & Mary, is the most experienced of BC’s forwards. Rolph averaged 6.7 points per game last season. Redshirt sophomore Kiera Edmonds played her freshman year at Wagner and averaged 8.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
Freshmen Eleanor Trout and Kennedy Hall, both standing at 6-foot-3, round out BC’s forward group. Trout appeared in the team’s exhibition against UConn, but Hall did not.
The Eagles will play their first regular-season game at home against Holy Cross. The team will also play its first two ACC games at home.
AP Preseason No.11 UNC comes to Conte Forum on Dec. 29. Conference play accelerates with a matchup against No. 7 Duke on Jan. 1 and a game versus No. 15 Notre Dame a week later. BC’s last win over a ranked team was in 2023.
The ACC gauntlet will put the Eagles’ “dog mentality” to the test.
“We’re going to have to embrace our mistakes and not let them phase us so we can move on [to the] next play,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “Hopefully, we can get some wins in the ACC, but it’s going to take everybody buying in and believing.”
