With 7:27 left in the fourth quarter of the game between Boston College women’s basketball and No. 19 Notre Dame, the Eagles cut the lead to eight after trailing by as many as 15 earlier in the quarter.
Notre Dame’s Maddy Westbeld responded with two jumpers to push the lead back up to 12, and the Fighting Irish never looked back. ND would go on a 24–8 run to close the game, eventually winning 79–55.
In the first quarter of the matchup between Boston College (11–18, 3–13 Atlantic Coast) and Notre Dame (21–6, 11–5) it was the Eagles who dominated.
BC got off to a hot start, leading 14–3 with 4:23 remaining in the first quarter. The Eagles were led by JoJo Lacey, who posted seven first-quarter points. BC ended the period with a 21–11 advantage.
“I thought defensively we came out of the gates really engaged and playing well, then credit to Coach Ivey, they made a couple of adjustments and then we didn’t necessarily flow into the overload adjustments that they made,” BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said.
The Eagles struggled immensely in the second quarter, posting just four points in the frame. Notre Dame, on the other hand, caught fire and eventually took a 29–25 lead going into halftime.
Turnovers plagued the Eagles in the second quarter, as they totaled nine giveaways in the frame. BC ended the game with 22 total turnovers.
“I think we looked rushed. There’s no reason to be rushed against a 2–3 zone, but we were trying to thread needles inside and they were getting stolen,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
Dontavia Waggoner helped to keep the Eagles afloat, and she ended the game with 25 points and 15 rebounds. She is just the second player in the ACC to do that this season..
“I thought she played an unbelievable game, probably one of her best games this season as far as she was engaged and playing tough. So, really, really proud of how she played,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
Waggoner’s offensive prowess did not keep the Eagles in the game for long, though. A successful and-1 from Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter pushed the Fighting Irish lead to 15. Notre Dame took a 53-40 lead heading into the final frame.
The Eagles got within eight points in the fourth quarter game before the Irish asserted their dominance and closed the game strong. The Irish were led by Hannah Hidalgo, who posted a team-high 19 points in the afternoon.
Despite their shooting struggles, which saw them shoot just 30.8 percent from the field, the Eagles were able to dominate the glass all game long. BC ended the game with 20 offensive rebounds, led by Waggoner’s 12—the most in an ACC game this season.
“We always try to crash the glass, and we always say we want to control things we can control. The hustle, the rebounding is one of those things,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
