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In a battle for fifth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets refused to go down without a fight. The Boston College women's basketball team was ready, however, and managed to pull off a 62-53 victory on "Think Pink" night at Conte Forum. With the win, the Eagles move into fifth place in the ACC, while the Yellow Jackets drop into sixth. The Eagles improve their record to 6-5 in the ACC and 18-8 overall.
"I'm really, really pleased because this was a big game for us," said BC head coach Cathy Inglese. "This was a must-win game."
Although they never relinquished their lead, the Eagles allowed the score to become too close for comfort down the stretch.
With 13:56 left to play, BC held an 11-point lead. The Yellow Jackets were not going to go quietly, and they began to mount a comeback. Following a basket by point guard Jaclyn Thoman, Georgia Tech guard Brigitte Ardossi hit a layup to cut BC's lead to 45-43 with 8:38 to play.
The Eagles increased their lead back up to seven on a 3-pointer from Thoman and a layup from Ayla Brown with 6:30 remaining.
In the next three minutes, Georgia Tech's four steals and the Eagles' six turnovers appeared to put the victory into the Yellow Jackets' hands. Following a basket by forward Alex Montgomery, the Yellow Jackets cut the lead to one, 52-51, with 4:24 to play.
The game was not over though, and guard Brittanny Johnson converted both free throws at 2:53 to put the Eagles up by three. Thoman proceeded to steal the ball on the ensuing Georgia Tech possession, which Carolyn Swords followed up on with a layup after a missed 3-pointer by Johnson. The Eagles then led by five again. Tied 56-53 with 35 seconds to go, Georgia Tech's 3-pointer attempt to tie the game rimmed out, and the Eagles went on to win the game with six straight free throws.
From the Johnson 3-pointer to begin the game, the Eagles never trailed. Going into the half, Georgia Tech managed to cut the BC lead down to five, 31-26. Guard Mickel Picco led the Eagles with 10 points in the half, while Swords chipped in eight.
The Eagles were led by freshmen for the majority of the contest. Swords led the Eagles with 14 points, four rebounds, and two blocks. Thoman contributed 13 points on 100 percent shooting, with five rebounds and three steals. Inglese specifically praised Thoman for her efforts in the game, especially in the game's final minutes. Brown also chipped in 11 points and six rebounds.
Throughout the game, the Eagles could not find an answer for Montgomery on defense. The freshman matched her career-high with 26 points along with six rebounds.
BC struggled against Georgia Tech's tenacious defense throughout the game as well. Most inbounds plays were faced by a full-court press, causing many problems in getting the ball past half court. The Yellow Jackets forced 23 BC turnovers, including 16 steals.
"This team was going to cause some turnovers … I think they lead the league in forcing turnovers, and we really needed to take good care of the ball," Inglese said.
Inglese admitted that her guards had trouble with the full-court press at times. The Eagles, "tried to get [their] post more involved. Murphy did a great job and Carolyn did [as well]," Inglese said.
"I'm really pleased we did not fold in this game, because we held the lead the whole game, they got within one, and we did not fold," Inglese said. "We played great zone defense at the end and we put in the foul shots when we needed to. This game showed a lot of maturity for a young team.
"Overall, [it was a] great team effort."
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