BC Women's Basketball Loses Heartbreaker to Pitt 83-80
Another game, another blown lead, another loss. After leading by as many as fifteen in the first half, Boston College lost a heartbreaker, 83-80, to the Pittsburgh Panthers. Taylor Soule led the Eagles with a spectacular performance, 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists but could not do enough to save them from another ACC loss. After having three games postponed, Coach McNamee’s Eagles should have been rested and prepared. Tonight, however, they imploded down the stretch falling to 5-9 on the season.
Even though BC’s offense floundered against Louisville and Notre Dame, the Eagles were firing on all cylinders to start the game. Marnelle Garraud had 5 points in the first two minutes and Cam Swartz drained a three of her own to put Boston College up 8-0 early on. Pitt would close the gap, though, as Dayshanette Harris led the Panthers’ offense to three straight buckets. To make matters worse for BC, Marnelle Garraud picked up two early fouls and was benched for the remainder of the half. Freshman Allie Palmieri checked in for Garraud and quickly hit a three to jumpstart the BC offense once again. With Palmieri and fellow freshman guard Kaylah Ivey on the floor, BC finished the first quarter on a 10-0 run. At the end of the first, Cam Swartz hit a buzzer-beating floater to give the Eagles a 29-16 lead.
The second quarter was markedly slower for both teams. Pitt’s Jayla Everett heated up, scoring nine points in the period, but BC was able to keep pace. Sophomore Jaelyn Batts and Junior Taylor Soule led the Eagles in the second, tallying nine and six points respectively. Destiny Strother hit a three to cut the lead to seven, but Boston College managed to avoid mistakes amid their poor second quarter shooting. At halftime, BC’s lead was ten and still looked safe.
Lance White must have given his Panthers a stiff halftime talk because they were nearly perfect after the break. Pitt exploded for 30 points in the third quarter, erasing the Boston College lead. Once again, offensive rebounds did the Eagles in and Pitt, the second-best team on the offensive glass in the ACC, scored off nearly every miss. Pitt grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the third, bullying the Eagles in the paint once again. Taylor Soule picked up her scoring to keep up, but the rest of the Eagles struggled. Jaelyn Batts coughed the ball up twice on a pair of ugly turnovers in the backcourt, leading to four consecutive points for Pitt. On the offensive end, Garraud returned, hitting another three-pointer, but the Eagles still committed 11 turnovers in the third. After three quarters, Pitt had come all the way back to lead 64-62.
After blowing a double digit lead in the third quarter, the Eagles seemed to wake up a little bit. Soule took over once again, scoring six straight BC points in a back-and-forth game. Still, Pitt kept the Eagles at an arm’s length. For most of the fourth quarter, Pitt led by at least five points. With one minute to play, BC was down six and it looked like time was running out. Then something amazing happened. After a Pitt miss, Marnelle Garraud hit Taylor Soule on a long outlet pass for two. After a timeout, Garraud and Ivey double teamed Harris, forcing a jump-ball and a turnover. Moments later, Makayla Dickens, who had been quiet throughout the game, drilled a long three. This last surge fell short, though, as with seven seconds on the clock, Makayla Dickens turned the ball over on a baseline inbound play. After trailing by as many as 15, Pitt sealed a critical win with 49 second half points pushing the Eagles further into the abyss, 83-80.
It’s hard to say what did the Eagles in tonight, but one would be remiss if they did not mention BC’s inability to box out and secure defensive rebounds. The Panthers, however, grabbed 19 offensive boards, most of them coming in the second half. Aside from rebounding issues, the once stagnant offense has a new problem- turnovers. Boston College squandered a ten point lead due in large part to their 18 turnovers. Jaelyn Batts committed the two most boneheaded mistakes, but she was not alone. Too many Eagles committed unforced errors. BC must regroup from this latest loss quickly, as a date against Miami looms just 48 hours away.
