The Boston College women’s basketball team’s immediate priority is closing out the regional stage of its schedule with 10 wins before the ACC campaign begins.
BC improved to 9-3 overall and 7-0 at home with a 94-46 win over the Bryant Bulldogs (7-4) in the opener of a women’s and men’s morning doubleheader Sunday at Conte Forum .
BC can reach double digits in the win column when the Eagles host Central Connecticut on Dec. 20. BC will play its ACC home opener against Louisville on Dec. 28 followed by No. 9 Duke on Jan. 2.
“I think (10 wins) is definitely needed for ACC play,” said point guard Savanah Samuel, a senior transfer from Oregon State. “We’ve really focused on doing the little things to really prepare for ACC play.
“We’re about to face some great competition. We’ve got to work on the things we need to work on so that when we play those games, we can work on the things we need to do to beat those ACC teams.”
BC shot 48.6% from the floor with 10 3-pointers, 42 rebounds, 23 assists and 36 forced turnovers. BC finished with 12 players with two or more points and one or more rebounds. Taya Sidberry scored 14 points followed by Samuel (13), Dontavia Waggoner (12) and T’yana Todd (11). Guard Mai Mancini paced the Bulldogs with 13 points.
“I think the biggest thing was getting everybody to show their skills in games like this where everybody’s scoring and just getting the team chemistry of everybody on the court,” said coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee, who picked up his 100th win at BC in Wednesday’s win over UMass.
“They all have a certain level of skill and then it’s about being aggressive and doing the little things. In today’s game, everyone looked after what they could within themselves and that always makes a manager happy.
“I loved their hustle and rebounding was definitely a priority in this game and they also take care of the ball. We will continue to work to take care of the ball.”
BC opened the contest with an 8-2 run that employed a transition offense and a suffocating all-out pressure defense. Sidberry got the machine rolling with a 3-ball from the left of the key and a layup from the baseline.
The Eagles scored seven unanswered points after the first media timeout with four turnovers at the end of Bryant. The attack continued unabated. Andrea Daley completed a 3-point play with 1.9 seconds left to give BC a 24-4 lead after one.
“The (defense) energized me and all my teammates were communicating,” said Sidberry, a junior transfer from Utah.
Bernabei-McNamee made liberal substitutions and employed multiple combinations throughout the second quarter. Bryant rallied with 16 points in the second quarter, but trailed 51-20 at intermission.
BC had 10 players with two or more points and a rebound led by Dodd with 11. The Eagles had 14 assists and forced 22 turnovers after 20 minutes.
“When you combine our length and speed and play really aggressive, hopefully that gives us confidence in ACC play,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “You want that transfer and I just thought they were pretty relentless the way they went after that press.
“We gave it a little tweak today and I thought they did a great job of just working on it for a day. We’re long, so when they get up and get big, our defense can look intimidating when we get big”.