Boston College women’s basketball had an extended roster for its Sunday game against UMass Lowell. It was the Team IMPACT Game, and the Eagles welcomed Maria to the team for the day. The Eagles put on a show as BC had its most dominant win of the season.
“It definitely means a lot to us, seeing the support we get from the community and knowing that there’s people that look up to us,” Kaylah Ivey said. “Maria, she is just so happy to be around us, always engaged, always brings a smile to our face.”
BC (4–5) snapped its three-game losing streak against the River Hawks (0–7) with a commanding 91–53 win. The Eagles set several season-high records, including the most points scored and most three-pointers made.
A Teya Sidberry layup started the game. UMass Lowell quickly responded, though, grabbing two offensive rebounds and tied the game.
Three minutes in, JoJo Lacey nailed a 3-pointer that propelled the Eagles out to a 7–2 lead.
The Eagles continued to roll and Dontavia Waggoner powered through a layup, pushing the Eagles to a seven point lead with 6:34 remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles kept shooting from deep, to mixed success. A big three from Ivey extended the Eagles lead in the last minute of the first quarter, which ended 23–14.
Waggoner nailed two free throws to start the second quarter, and continued her drive for offensive rebounds, using her height advantage.
A Todd layup gave BC an 11-point lead, 27–16. But despite the lead, the Eagles were still aggressive.
Back-to-back Waggoner-Daley layups pushed the Eagles to a 35–18 lead, an 8–0 run for BC.
In the last minute of the half, Lili Krasovec had a layup to give BC a 18 point lead.
Todd had a buzzer-beater layup, and the half ended 45–26. It was a dominant performance by the Eagles, who led the entire time.
The Eagles started off hot in the second half with two layups. BC continued to dominate and took advantage of the River Hawks’ mistakes. UMass Lowell had 22 turnovers, and the Eagles had 29 points off turnovers.
“Everybody can play, but it is a matter of the first group that goes out there has to build momentum and a lead in order to have the head coach to have confidence to start subbing around,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “It’s credit to that first group who’s out there playing really hard, and then the second group that comes in, not really losing or missing a beat and continuing to play.”
T’yanna Todd nailed a 3-pointer and gave the Eagles a 57–30 lead. Daley and Todd led the Eagle’s offense, with 18 and 17 points respectively.
Daley’s layup with 2:36 left in the third gave BC a 30-point lead, 66–36.
It was a complete game from the Eagles and they controlled the tempo, never relenting their fast pace of play. With 39 seconds left in the third period, Ivey nailed BC’s seventh of eight 3-pointers on the night, a season-high from behind the arc for the Eagles.
The third quarter ended with BC up 71–41.
The fourth quarter was a continuation of the same. BC unselfishly passed the ball and connected on transitions.
The Eagles bench was key to their victory. The bench had 27 points, and BC utilized its deep bench to maintain a high level of play.
Lezama and Waggonner had back-to-back layups and put BC up 82–46. The Eagles pushed for offensive rebounds, with 12 total.
Lezama had a layup in the last minute, the Eagles 91st point. The Eagles won 91–53, ending their three-game losing streak.
“They really played together as a team,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “I think everybody getting a score in the game and that’s sometimes hard to do when you’re playing a team that the matchups are a little uneven. I thought the entire game we never forgot to play as a team, which is why we ended up getting 23 assists.”
