Emma Guy Hits Buzzer Beater As Boston College Downs Notre Dame 56-55
It looked grim at Conte Forum. Just moments before Notre Dame's Destinee Walker had just given the Irish the lead on a put back with very little time remaining. But the Eagles weren't done. With 1.2 seconds on the clock, coming out of a timeout, Georgia Pineau lobbed a perfect pass to Emma Guy who laid it in as the buzzer sounded to give Boston College a thrilling 56-55 win.
For Guy (12 points), who has been the offensive leader for the Eagles all year this was a new experience for her. When her defender overplayed her, she knew the ball was coming to her, and Pineau got to her on a dime "I can't screw this up" Guy told reporters, "it's such a beautiful pass". With her adrenaline pumping, and the game on the line she drained the shot for the win. Her teammates and the fans in attendance erupted. "It was crazy, it was kind of fun though" said Guy.
The ending of this game however didn't reflect the struggles Boston College faced through the first half. Only shooting 10% in the first quarter, and 25% in the second, the Eagles looked all out of sorts. "It was a frustrating game, that was fun at the end" head coach Joanna McNamee told reporters, "because we couldn't do anything right".
McNamee was candid about the team's struggles, "defensively we played horribly." On offense they struggled as well."We couldn't get anything going on offensively.",but like so many games this year the Eagles didn't give up "we never let that effect our hustle, what we did on the boards."
As the Eagles continued to grind, the baskets started to fall, led by Taylor Soule's twenty point performance. "I have a lot of faith in them. said McNamee, "I've seen what they can do, when they shoot 90% from the free throw line at practice" "Just waiting to see it click". The the Eagles caught fire, as they ripped off a twenty point run in the third quarter that erased a big Irish lead.
After trailing for most of the game, Pineau hit a layup in the fourth quarter that finally gave BC the lead. The teams traded buckets until Walker's put back looked to seal the win. But Guy got to play the hero last night, giving the Eagles their seventh ACC win of the season.
McNamee never gave up on her team, and even after the tough start still believed they would win. "I never thought there was a time in this game we would lose" she said after teh game. Although the accolades all will go to Guy, it was a total team effort. Even after losing for the first 27 minutes, they never gave up "it just showed we are fighters" the coach said beaming about her squad.
With their second win against Notre Dame this season, Boston College moves to 6th in the ACC. The Eagles return to action on Sunday against UNC in a big noon matchup at Conte Forum.
