With seven minutes left in the game between Boston College women’s basketball and Providence, Andrea Daley drove into the paint on a fastbreak, pushing through her defenders for a layup. Following the shot, Daley watched as the ball hit the backboard, banking swiftly into the net. The score extended the Eagles’ lead over the Friars to 19 points—the greatest point differential in the game.
BC (3–2) went on to clinch a 71–56 win over Providence (2–2) in Providence, R.I., on Sunday, generating success off 27 Friar turnovers that turned into 31 BC points. Teya Sidberry recorded a career-high 22 points along with a season-high nine rebounds in the victory.
“Teya is so well-poised around the basket, and she can also shoot from the outside,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “She is always a calming presence when the ball is in her hands.”
BC recorded 34 rebounds and 17 turnovers in the game. The Friars, meanwhile, had 33 rebounds and 27 turnovers.
“I think we could have capitalized a lot more offensively because on a lot of the transitions, we turned it over as well or missed the shot,” T’yana Todd said of BC, which shot 45 percent from the field in the win.
The sophomore guard delivered 13 points—all in the second half—along with two steals and two rebounds. BC finished with 22 total steals, with seven different Eagles recording a steal.
“T’yana turned it up on defense and played so hard,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “That kind of just sparked us on the defensive end, and then she did a nice job handling the pressure on the offensive end.”
Following the Eagles’ first points of the game off a Daley jump shot, BC maintained that lead for the remainder of the game. The Eagles ended the first quarter with a 18–6 lead after Sidberry converted on a layup with one second remaining. They held Providence to 2-of-9 shooting in the quarter, forcing nine turnovers.
As the second quarter began, the Eagles’ advantage continued. With 8:23 left in the quarter, Dontavia Waggoner delivered a successful layup, propelling the Eagles to a 20–8 lead. Waggoner finished the game with eight points on 3-of 8-shooting.
Sophomore guard Kayla Lezama followed with a steal, resulting in a fastbreak layup that put the Eagles ahead by 10.
Despite leading 28–20 at halftime, Providence opened the third quarter with a layup and a 3-pointer to cut BC’s lead to just three points. The Friars continued to hang around toward the middle of the quarter, as Grace Efosa’s 3-pointer brought Providence within 34–30 with 5:06 remaining.
But BC swiftly went on an 8–0 run, starting with a JoJo Lacey 3-pointer and capped off with a Todd 3-pointer to put the Eagles’ back 42–30.
The Eagles capitalized on layups and defensive steals during the fourth quarter, headlined by Todd’s 11-point quarter to go up 19 points. BC shot 8 of 15 from the field and 5 of 7 from the free throw line in the quarter as well.
BC finished the game with 19 defensive rebounds.
“I liked to see how we turned up the heat on defense,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “Offensively, I thought even when we maybe had a bad possession, we stuck together and we moved on to the next play.”
Following the win, Bernabei-McNamee remained optimistic about the Eagles’ performance.
“It was one of those games where our defense really sparked our offense,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “When we were causing turnovers and moving together as one on the defensive end, we were able to grab and push our primary offense and get some points off turnovers.”
