Coming off a three-game losing streak, Boston College women’s basketball needed a win on Tuesday in its game against Merrimack—bad. That’s what they got.
Athena Tomlinson scored 21 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three, and the Eagles (4–4) beat Merrimack (2–4) 77–72. Five Eagles scored in double digits as the Warriors went down in Conte Forum on Field Trip Day.
The attendance for the game was a season-high of 5,167, and the thousands of kids in attendance for Field Trip Day erupted as the score hit the now-iconic number 67.
“The kids in the stands, and playing in front of a crowd that was so loud was amazing,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “We did get to the 67 mark, so that was exciting.”
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with the game being played at a high speed. Both teams shot below 44 percent in the quarter and committed a combined 10 turnovers. The Eagles led 23–18 at the end of the quarter, with Kayla Rolph notching seven in the quarter on her own.
Merrimack kept it close in the second frame, and Lily Carmody hit a layup with just a second remaining, giving BC a 35–32 lead at the half.
Tomlinson also hit a buzzer-beater to conclude the third, this time with a 3-pointer. The score was 55–49 to begin the fourth, then BC began to build on its lead.
Its largest lead of the night came with 6:19 remaining in the fourth quarter. Tomlinson drove to the rim, scored while simultaneously drawing a foul, and hit her free throw to make the score 67–52.
Despite the odds being heavily tilted in favor of the Eagles after they grabbed that large lead, Merrimack fought hard in the final six minutes and cut the lead to just four with 14 seconds remaining.
The Eagles were able to hold their lead, however, and improved to .500 with a 77–72 victory.
“Nothing is easy, right?” Bernabei-McNamee said. “We really had to scrap and fight to get the win.”
In addition to Tomlinson’s 21 points, she picked up eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. She is the only ACC player outside of Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo to post a game with at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Carmody, Rolph, Teionni McDaniel, and Erin Houpt also finished in double figures for the Eagles, marking the first time this season that five BC players have scored 10 or more points in the same game.
