Entering Saturday afternoon’s matchup, Boston College women’s basketball was riding in with its longest win streak since December of last season.
It was a disappointing loss for BC (3–2), though, as Providence (2–1) knocked them off their three-game winning streak.
“We didn’t really have much success today, in my opinion,” said BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee. “It was a frustrating game.”
The first quarter marked a slow offensive start for the Eagles. The Friars’ Sabou Gueye and Audrey Shields boasted back-to-back layups, setting the tone for a 4–0 lead.
Sophomore guard Lily Carmody finally notched a point for BC—her left-side layup put the Eagles on the board and earned a foul in the process. After sinking her free throw, she followed it up with the first 3-pointer of the game, singlehandedly bringing the score to 6–4.
The Eagles were flying high at the end of the first frame, leading 16–10.
But the second quarter was a different story.
Following the break, the Friars came out firing. Payton Dunbar alone claimed 11 out of the 24 points, landing her first career 3-pointer and matching BC’s 11 second-quarter points.
Throughout the game, Providence touted an impressive 48 field-goal percentage to BC’s 38 percent. The Friars consistently found success at the rim, using their size advantage and aggression to make BC work for everything they had.
“Everybody looked a little bit like they weren’t quite themselves, they weren’t on their mark,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “They didn’t look intense enough for me, or ready for the fight that was going to be Providence at Providence. They all have to understand that you can’t take any possessions off, let alone multiple possessions.”
Providence outscored BC 34–27 by halftime.
“Defensively, we had so many breakdowns … we knew their tendencies and I think that’s very frustrating from a coach’s standpoint,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “Credit to Providence for kind of getting what they wanted in that game, and we were kind of a non-factor, and we had a lot to grow from it.”
Athena Tomlinson’s role was different this game, supporting the team with 10 assists. Despite leading the Eagles in minutes played, she went uncharacteristically scoreless. It was a far cry from her 10 points against Rider and 13 against UMass Lowell.
The bench players demonstrated the team’s depth. Erin Houpt put up 11 points, and Jocelyne Grier chipped in with nine.
“I think one of the best things about this team is that there are a number of players—even players off the bench—that can step up and be huge factors and difference makers,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
Coming into the fourth quarter down 55–45, the Eagles couldn’t make up the difference. A combination of failed opportunities and undeniable mistakes left the Eagles losing to the Friars for the first time since 2019.
“We missed 14 layups,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “It’s hard to win any basketball game at any level if you miss 14. Having 21 turnovers, that’s like nine or 10 too many. It’s not like they were pressing us, it was almost like we were just mentally [struggling].”
