Boston College women’s basketball stormed into the Hilltop on Thursday night and came out victorious, earning its first win since Nov. 25 and snapping a 20-game losing streak with a 77–59 win over Southern Methodist.
Coming into Thursday night’s matchup at Moody Coliseum, sophomore Lily Carmody was leading the Eagles (5–24, 1–15 Atlantic Coast) in scoring. She continued that production in the Eagles’ win over SMU (9–18, 2–13), charting a career-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field.
The Butler transfer has hit a hot streak, averaging 17.6 points across her last six outings.
“Sometimes you have a player that can just finish with power, and sometimes you have a player that can have some craftiness but always is finesse,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “Lily does a really good job of combining her craftiness with power, and so that’s what makes her a really good finisher.”
On the glass, the Eagles outrebounded the Mustangs by seven, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds that led to second-chance scoring opportunities for BC.
“We’ve always been undersized, so it’s finding a way to out-grit other teams,” Carmody said. “Today, we definitely outrebounded the other team, so I think that’s really important for us, especially to get into the win column.”
The Eagles were able to build an advantage at the free-throw line throughout the game, going 18 of 21 from the line, an 86-percent mark, compared to the Mustangs’ 50-percent performance (6 of 12).
The Eagles also threw different defensive looks at the Mustangs, including zone packages that allowed them to get into passing lanes and disrupt SMU’s offensive rhythm. The Eagles forced 19 turnovers, leading to 18 points.
“Our coaching staff in this game today, [was] so locked in and every single coach on that bench was giving great suggestions and … changing defenses,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “Everybody was just on point with it and on their A game.”
Both squads opened the game strongly, as each shot 40 percent or better from three in the first quarter, which ended 16–15 BC. The second quarter was a little slower for both teams, though, and the game was knotted at 26 at the break after being tied three times throughout the first half.
The Mustangs jumped out to a five-point lead coming out of halftime—their largest of the game—but the Eagles crawled their way back and stole a 41–38 lead with about five minutes to play in the quarter, thanks to a 3-pointer from Amirah Anderson.
Sophomore point guard Athena Tomlinson drilled a three from the left wing as the third quarter came to a close, extending BC’s lead to 55–50.
After BC built a steady advantage throughout the fourth quarter, SMU cut the lead to seven with 1:59 on the clock. But Anderson drained a deep two to put the Eagles up nine with about a minute and a half remaining, putting the dagger in any SMU comeback efforts.
The Eagles flexed an unselfish brand of basketball down the stretch, allowing them to be efficient from the field and get to the line consistently. BC finished with 15 assists—tied for the fourth-highest total in any game this season.
“Erin [Houpt]’s three-point shooting is why Lily had those lanes as well, because they were staying hugged up to her,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “It was just a really good team win.”
The Eagles had four double-digit scorers, as Anderson and Houpt each contributed 14, and Jocelyne Grier added a dozen to complement Carmody’s career night.
“This team loves each other and loves playing together, and I’m glad that it finally showed and paid off for them,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
Both teams sported pink accessories and uniform touches for SMU’s Play4Kay game, supporting the fight against breast cancer.
