With 1:33 left in the fourth quarter of the matchup between Boston College women’s basketball and Clemson, the Eagles found themselves down 61–55 despite trailing by 12 points earlier in the half.
With a chance to cut the lead to a single possession, BC’s turnover problems—which had afflicted them all night—reared their head again. A turnover by Andrea Daley with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, marked the Eagles’ 21st of the game, and BC did not score a single point for the rest of the contest.
“Yeah, 13 first-half turnovers. I mean, every time you turn over the ball that’s an opportunity you’ve missed to go score. So, turnovers were a big factor,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said.
Mistakes were rampant in Thursday’s matchup between BC (11–12, 3–7 Atlantic Coast) and Clemson (10–12, 3–7), as the Tigers committed 26 turnovers of their own.
“We gotta capitalize on the turnovers we cause,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “We didn’t capitalize on them enough.”
BC started the game off on a 7–2 run, receiving baskets from T’yana Todd, Daley, and Teya Sidberry. Unfortunately for the Eagles, this would be their largest lead of the entire game.
The Tigers began to heat up after a slow start, going 3 of 4 in 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Tigers sophomore guard Ruby Whitehorn led Clemson’s offense—recording 13 first-half points.
Clemson’s leading scorer coming into the matchup, Amari Robinson, was held relatively in check all night. Robinson scored just nine points in the game, well below her season average of 17.2 coming into the affair.
“It was key to hold her without being able to take over the game. But then, in the first half, Whitehorn and her basically flipped roles,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “For us, I thought we had some missed defensive assignments we needed to work on.”
Clemson’s lead reached as much as 13 in the first half after a jumper by Mackenzie Kramer with 7:54 remaining in the second quarter. BC was able to fight back, though, and eventually cut the lead to just two with 2:24 remaining in the half. But a layup by Clemson forward Amani Freeman put the Tigers up 34–30 going into halftime.
“Of course, I want to make more shots, but I think we could have created a little easier offense had we sprinted the floor a little harder on the offensive end,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
The third quarter was a repeat of the second, as the Eagles once again were able to cut the lead to just two points with 8:46 remaining after a Daley layup. Clemson responded, though, and ended the quarter with a 48–41 lead.
In addition to their turnover struggles, the Eagles also struggled on the glass, allowing 12 offensive rebounds for Clemson on the night. This played a crucial role in the fourth quarter, where there were multiple possessions in which a Clemson player scored after grabbing their own rebounds.
With just over four minutes remaining BC found itself within striking distance down eight points. But Whitehorn was able to deliver consecutive offensive rebounds, resulting in her converting a layup which gave Clemson a 10-point lead with 4:57 left in the game.
The Eagles got as close as seven points with 1:29 remaining but were never able to get over the hump—resulting in their fourth straight loss.
“Rebounding wise, again, we’re an undersized team. So we’ve gotta push back a little harder, we’ve gotta take pride in the way we block out on the defensive end,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
