Boston College Women's Basketball Finishes Regular Season With 88-81 Win Over Syracuse

Another big win for the Eagles.

The Boston College Eagles (18-11, 11-7 ACC) finished their regular season with an impressive 88-81 win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. With the win, the Eagles secured the sixth seed in the ACC Tournament and will face the winner of Clemson and Miami in the second round on Thursday. Taylor Soule led the Eagles with 26 points and eight rebounds, and senior Taylor Ortlepp had a career high 18 points in the victory. A total of five Eagles scored in double digits today. 

It was all Eagles to start the game as they jumped out to an early 15-4 lead, with Ortlepp scoring eight points in under a minute in the midst of the run. However as the first quarter came to a close, Syracuse stormed back with a trio of three pointers that cut the lead to just three points at 29-26. 

The second half was evenly matched with BC holding a slight lead, until Gabrielle Cooper hit a three pointer with about a minute remaining to tie it. After Syracuse hit a pair of free throws to take the lead, Soule hit a layup with two seconds remaining to bring the game to a 45-45 tie at half. 

Boston College struck quickly in the third on a three pointer by Marnelle Garraud. But every time the Eagles jumped ahead, it seemed like Syracuse had an answer. Cooper hit another three pointer to give Syracuse a 59-56 lead, but BC scored five unanswered by Cameron Schwartz to regain the lead. Just like at halftime, the two teams ended the third quarter deadlocked, this time at 64-64.

The fourth quarter was a complete team effort for the Eagles who finally started to build their lead. Senior Emma Guy scored a pair of layups, while Ortlepp again came up big with a pair of three pointers to seal it. 

“That’s a TEAM EFFORT” ‼️‼️#WeAreBC🦅🏀 pic.twitter.com/DBKOE5e5x1

— Boston College Women’s Basketball (@BC_WBB) March 1, 2020

This win caps off an incredible turn around my Coach Joanna McNamee and the Boston College Women's basketball team. In just a year they took a program that had only three conference wins, and made them a force in the ACC. Taylor Soule is blossoming into a legit All-American caliber player, while Emma Guy and Makayla Dickens blossomed into solid players. While there certainly were stars on this team however, it was the play of this roster as a team that led them on this run. 

BC will need a deep run in the ACC tournament if they want to make the NCAA tournament. Their first step will be against Clemson/Miami on Thursday at 8pm.