Women's Basketball Tops Virginia Tech, 57-47
March 7, 2008
GREENSBORO, N.C. -
BY STEVE PHILLIPS
The last month didn't treat Boston College
particularly kind. Still, the Eagles own a two-game winning streak.
More importantly, they remain alive in the Atlantic Coast Conference
Women's Tournament.
Led by the freshman inside duo of Stefanie Murphy and Carolyn Swords,
seventh-seeded BC put the defensive clamps on 10th-seeded Virginia Tech
for a 57-47 win in Thursday night's first-round game.
The win was the first for the Eagles in ACC Tournament play since they
began competing in the conference during the 2005-06 season.
"We love the feeling of knowing we're not going back to the hotel
tonight and getting ready to go back to the airport tomorrow morning,"
said guard Brittany Johnsion, a redshirt junior. "We're coming back
here tomorrow to play another game."
Boston College (20-10) faces second-seeded Maryland (29-2) in Friday's
6 p.m. quarterfinal game.
The 6-foot-4 Murphy led all scorers with 14 points while pulling down a
game-high seven rebounds. Swords, a 6-6 center, added 12 points and
three steals while blocking two shots.
The combination of a strong inside presence and an effective pressure
defense proved too much for the Hokies, who turned the ball over 19
times and saw the Eagles convert their share of those into 21 points.
"We had a great week of practice, and we really tried to emphasize our
defense," BC coach Cathy Inglese said. "We said, 'This team can be
pressured. Let's try to do that and force some turnovers.' ''
The Eagles lost five of their final seven regular-season games, but
defeated Miami last Saturday to head into the ACC Tournament with a bit
of momentum. A strong start on Thursday night ensured that BC kept its
bearings.
Ayla Brown scored nine points in the first 2:54 to power BC to a quick
11-2 lead. The Hokies failed to get closer than seven for the remainder
of the first half, which ended with Eagles in front 27-15.
Virginia Tech managed to get the margin below double-figures once in the
opening minutes of the second half, but Swords countered with two
quick inside buckets to keep BC comfortably ahead.
"The game was obviously a struggle for us offensively, and I think a
lot of that had to do with the way we started out defensively," said
Virginia coach Beth Dunkenberger. "We didn't force tempo at all in the
first half."
Andrea Barbour's 13 points led the Hokies (15-15), and Brittany Cook
scored 10.
Brown finished with 11 points, and Johnson added 10 for the Eagles, who
delivered a bit of payback after losing to the Hokies in the opening
round of last year's tournament.
"Virginia Tech has become sort of a rival to us, and it seemed like any
time we needed a big win they were standing in our way saying, 'Not
today,' '' Johnson said. "To beat them in this game gives us a lot of
energy going into the game tomorrow."
BC and Maryland met twice during the regular season, with the
fifth-ranked Terps winning by 27 points on both occasions. Obviously,
the Eagles will need a better all-around effort to entertain hopes of an
upset on Friday night.
"We have to make sure that this time we don't commit turnovers and we
don't give them easy points in transition," Inglese said. "That's
something they do very well."
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