No. 6 Duke Presents ‘Just Another Tough ACC Game’

The Boston College women's basketball team finally got over that pesky hump on Sunday when it beat Miami, 72-64, and head coach Sylvia Crawley's team looks to continue that momentum when it takes on No. 6 Duke tonight in Conte Forum. The Eagles currently hold a 12-10 record with a 3-4 record in conference play.

Duke may arrive at the top of the ACC with a stellar national ranking, but that does little to phase the Eagles. "It's just another tough ACC game for us, and we can't psyche ourselves out because it's Duke," said guard Brittanny Johnson. Johnson led the Eagles in Sunday's game with 16 points.

BC will look to control the tempo of the game against the Blue Devils, whom Crawley describes as an incredibly fast transition team.

"We'll control the tempo of the game by limiting our turnovers," she said. Citing smart guard play as a key to the game, BC will look to veteran guards Mickel Picco, Jaclyn Thoman, and Johnson to get the ball inside. In the Miami game, both Picco and Thoman registered six assists, which they will need to replicate against Duke.

Additionally, when center Carolyn Swords and forward Stefanie Murphy get going in the post, it frees up open shots for outside shooters. "If we can get Carolyn and Murph going inside and execute our offense, we feel like we'll have a chance," Johnson said.

"We're still looking to play inside out," Crawley said. "We have post players who shoot a high percentage, and our 3-point percentage is better when we work inside-out." On the season, Swords has shot 66.2 percent from the field, while Murphy has hit 49.6 percent of her field goal attempts.

The Eagles have seen more presses used against them, and it continues to be a point of emphasis in practice for the Eagles. Thanks to extensive focus on countering the press, BC feels far more comfortable facing it. "Our ability to break the press is much better now," Crawley said.

Duke looks to press often with many different types of background disruptions. On the season, Duke has forced 478 turnovers, but has given up the ball just 367 times. "We've seen all the presses they're going to throw at us, just never all in the same game," Crawley said.

On the offensive side of the ball, Duke will look to its guards Jasmine Thomas, who leads the team in scoring at roughly 16 points per game, and Bridgette Mitchell, to get its speedy offense going. "They've got an incredible amount of athleticism with their guards," Crawley said.

Having recently experienced last minute losses to Virginia and Clemson, Crawley has stressed having what she calls a "killer instinct" at the end of games. She saw some of this in the win against Miami as the Eagles battled back and then held on to a slim lead to get the victory. "Coming off a win in such a tough ACC conference is definitely a morale boost," Johnson said.

As a senior, Johnson has yet to conquer Duke, and says her team looks forward to taking on its opponent Thursday night. "I've seen a shift in the mentality of these players," she said. "We used to be intimidated by the top teams, but we are seeing all sorts of things happening in the conference, so we feel like we can go out and compete with anybody."