BC Falls At Home To Miami

The Boston College women's basketball team extended its losing streak to eight games on Sunday, as the Miami Hurricanes dominated the Eagles 88-57 at Conte Forum to keep BC winless in the ACC. Tessah Holt led the Eagles with 12 points, but it wasn't enough to keep the Eagles from falling to 5-16 on the season.

The Hurricanes cruised to a 17-3 lead after six minutes of play and never looked back. Senior Shenise Johnson led the way for the Hurricanes, scoring 16 of her 22 points in the opening half to give Miami a 48-27 halftime lead. The Eagles came out fighting in the second half, but eight straight points from Miami junior Stefanie Yderstrom gave the Hurricanes a 57-28 lead that put the game out of reach.

The visitors stifled the Eagles' offense with an aggressive pressure defense, forcing 15 BC turnovers that led to 25 first-half points for Miami. The Eagles finished the game with 29 turnovers while shooting just 36 percent from the field.

BC also struggled to keep Miami off the boards. The Hurricanes dominated the glass, outrebounding the Eagles 50-29 while collecting 23 offensive rebounds. In addition, Miami finished with 15 second-chance points in the first half. Head coach Sylvia Crawley was visibly upset about her team's failure to box out.

"We've got to do a better job at transition defense and boxing out," Crawley said. "We have to learn how to box out and keep them off the boards before our next game."

The Eagles were unable to contain Miami's two best offensive threats. Johnson and Riquna Williams, who were both named to the Women's Midseason Nominee List for the prestigious John R. Wooden Award, combined for 40 points in the game as BC failed to adjust defensively.

"We threw in some zone, we pressed them, we trapped them, we tried just about every defense we know," Crawley said. "We've just got to keep working to get better."

Despite the tough loss and the recent losing streak, Crawley remains optimistic about her team's future. Freshman Joy Caracciolo was a bright spot for the Eagles, scoring 10 points in 22 minutes of play. The Eagles were able to get several of their younger players into the game on Sunday, and Crawley is hopeful that this experience will prove to be helpful further down the road.

"We were able to get some of our younger players some minutes tonight, which was a good learning experience for them," Crawley said. "It was good for them to get their feet wet in a game like this where the tempo is very quick, and I think it will pay off in the future."

Crawley also pointed to Miami's recent turnaround as a source of inspiration for the Eagles.

"This is a Miami team that several years ago was very young and was at the bottom of our conference," Crawley said. "And now they've stuck together, they've worked hard, and they're at the top of our conference. It's encouraging for us because it shows that if you work hard, stick together, and keep doing the little things, it can pay off in the long run."

In the meantime, the Eagles hope to snap their losing streak on Thursday as they travel to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins.

Although this season has been difficult at times, BC can still end on a positive note with a solid performance in the second half of conference play. With eight games remaining, the Eagles still have time to bring a bright spot to the end of the season.