For Boston College women’s basketball, a Thanksgiving day victory over Tulane in Puerto Rico was all about rebounding. Not necessarily just snagging shots off the glass—though the Eagles excelled there too—but rebounding from a disappointing loss to Charlotte just a day ago.
With the fire of a loss to motivate them, the Eagles (5-3) started out way ahead in the first quarter, and they never looked back. They jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first minutes of the game, and BC’s offense was so hungry to forget its previous game that Tulane (3-4) never even stood a chance.
Thanks largely to spectacular performances by Cameron Swartz and Marnelle Garraud, the Eagles took a commanding 32-14 lead by the end of the first quarter. Swartz and Garraud combined for an impressive 17 points in that period, and the team ended the frame shooting 60 percent from the field.
Swartz ended the game leading the team with a career-high 27 points while Emma Guy followed with 17, and Garraud tallied 15 en route to a dominant 89-76 victory.
In the second quarter, the Eagles expanded their lead right out of the gate. Though Tulane at one point in the frame cut its deficit to 12, the Eagles were quick to counter gained their largest lead of the night at 28. As a result, BC entered the locker room at halftime holding a commanding 53-28 lead.
Tulane wasn’t ready to roll over, though, as the Green Wave came out of the locker room hungry to get back into the game. Tulane outscored the Eagles 20-16 in the third quarter, but that just wasn’t enough to warrant any panic from the Eagles’ sideline.
Staying calm and collected, BC approached the final frame with a huge lead on its side and the same offense-heavy mindset it has played with all season. The Eagles once again outscored Tulane, negating any chance for the Green Wave to make a comeback.
This incredible margin of victory is not to say that Tulane simply let BC run all over it, but BC’s dominant offense was simply too much for the Green Wave to handle. Tulane matched BC in fouls, turnovers, and blocks; outscored the Eagles in points off the bench; and hit more shots from behind the arc, but the backcourt duo of Garraud and Swartz was simply too much to handle.
Both teams grabbed nine offensive rebounds, but one major differentiating factor between them was that the Eagles really excelled on the defensive glass, putting up 21 to Tulane’s 15. Taylor Soule was a rebounding machine, as she grabbed two on offense and four on defense to lead BC. Guy followed closely behind with five total.
All in all, the Eagles ended the night shooting 58.6 percent from the field—a season high—which sealed their victory. It would be nearly impossible for any team to take down the Eagles with that prolific of an offense, regardless of success in other stat categories.
The Eagles struggled from 3-point range, as they have for much of the season so far, tallying just 31.3 percent from behind the arc, but today they proved that they can make up for it by playing to their strengths.
With this game, the Eagles end their trip to Puerto Rico at 1-1, which isn’t a bad result for them. Though their offensive dominance all but disappeared in the first game, they looked just like their usual selves for the second. The Eagles return to the mainland feeling reassured in their identity as an offense-heavy team, and they will go into their next matchup feeling confident in their scoring ability.
Featured Image by Ikram Ali / Heights Editor
