BC’s loss truly the Pitts
Can’t slow Gophers standout
Boston College’s lack of big-game experience surfaced in the deciding moments against a ranked opponent.
Minnesota, ranked No. 14 in the country, outscored the Eagles women 21-9 in the final 7:21 to escape Conte Forum with a 77-69 victory Sunday afternoon.
“That was a hard-fought game from both teams,” BC first year head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. “But what was really disappointing for us (was) to kind of have what I thought were a lot of young-team mistakes in the fourth quarter that could have been alleviated with experience.”
Minnesota improved to 9-0, its third-longest win steak to open the season in program history. BC fell to 8-2 and has three non-conference games remaining before ACC play begins at home against Georgia Tech on Jan. 3.
The Gophers’ ability to finish strong provided the Eagles a glimpse of what awaits when playing ranked opponents like Notre Dame, Louisville, Florida State and Syracuse on a weekly basis in the ACC.
“If we are going to grow from this, this is the time because it is a telltale sign of what we are going to see in the ACC,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “We have to get a lot better to win these games.
“Now we’ve gotten a taste of what that is going to be like, and it’s really important for our players and us as a coaching staff. It’s a good game to get a taste of highlevel competition, and now we know exactly what we need to do to get better.”
BC shot 38.1 percent from the floor with eight 3-pointers but was hurt by 17 turnovers and eight fewer rebounds. Taylor Ortlepp led the Eagles with 25 points, including 11 in the third quarter.
The Eagles’ game plan was to deny Gophers guard Destiny Pitts open looks from behind the arc and keep her off the free throw line. Pitts refused to fall in line and scored a game-high 35 points with six treys and 11-of-12 free throws, all in the final minute.
BC went up 60-56 on a pull-up jumper by Georgia Pineau with 7:38 to play in the game. The Gophers retaliated with an 11-0 run to take a 67-60 lead with 49 seconds to play.
Ortlepp ended a 6:53 minute scoring for BC, hitting a 3 with 45 seconds remaining. Makayla Dickens netted a long ball and Ortlepp sank three from the line to cut the Gophers lead to 73-69 with 22 seconds left.
Pitts stymied the Eagles late rally by sinking 10 straight free throws in the final 43 seconds. The Eagles could not deny Pitts on five straight inbound passes, and she entered the game shooting 87.5 percent from the line.
“We talked in the timeouts that whoever was guarding the inbounder (had) to double back on (Pitts) and try not to let her get it,” Bernabei-McNamee said. “(To) let their best free throw shooter continually catch the ball on the inbound was frustrating, as well as letting a kid like that score as many threes and she did.”