Ortlepp grabs control for BC
Freshman guides ACC bid
Freshman point guard Taylor Ortlepp was getting acclimated to Atlantic Coast Conference competition when Boston College suffered a 71-67 setback to Georgia Tech on Jan. 12.
Ortlepp then attained her ACC bearings when she became BC’s featured playmaker against No. 7 Notre Dame on Jan. 19. In 11 ACC starts, eight against ranked opponents, Ortlepp is averaging 9.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists with 16 3-pointers in the last seven games.
BC coach Erik Johnson needs the slick 5-foot-7 ballhandler to be a difference maker when the No. 15 Eagles (9-20) engage No. 10 Georgia Tech (16-13) in the first round of the ACC tournament today at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C.
“She has taken over the point guard role and she has taken over the team,” said Johnson. “She has really made tremendous strides against ACC competition because she got hurt in a scrimmage two weeks before the season. She finally got into games at the end of the nonconference season and had to get her legs in ACC play. Now she is putting up close to 20 in the last couple of games.”
BC must rectify two areas that were costly in its last match against the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech pulled down 20 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points, and its pressure defense forced 27 turnovers (19 steals) and scored 31 points off turnovers.
“Twenty offensive rebounds for them and 27 turnovers by us and those two stats jump off the page, and that is a pretty tough thing to overcome,” said Johnson. “The key for us is to keep the turnovers down because we can score.”
Unless the Eagles run the table and capture the ACC title their season will end, and Johnson will say farewell to his first recruitment class that includes seniors Kelly Hughes and Emilee Daley of Sharon and Kailey Edwards, who transferred here from Denver.
Hughes will exit as one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in NCAA history. She has 320 made 3-pointers, the most in school history and tied for second on the ACC’s all-time list. Hughes is the only ACC player to record 300 made 3-point shots and 600 rebounds, and is the seventh BC player to eclipse 1,500 career points.
Hughes views the ACC tournament as a new beginning, not a last hurrah.
“When the ACC tournament starts, it’s anyone’s ballgame,” she said. “If we can have deep success, what you did in conference play doesn’t matter at all. Everyone is gunning for that tournament and an NCAA berth so everything is on the line. It’s win or go home and we have to give our all. The seniors don’t want our season to end so we are going to come out firing at Myrtle Beach.”