Tigers extend Eagles’ ACC struggles
Boston College has felt the full fury of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the past three games of an extended losing streak.
The Eagles dropped their fifth straight ACC contest with 91-58 thrashing at the hands of a rejuvenated Clemson squad Saturday afternoon at Conte Forum. In consecutive setbacks to Syracuse, reigning national champion Notre Dame and Clemson, the Eagles have been outscored, 284-174.
BC fell to 14-12 and 3-10 in the ACC and close out the campaign at North Carolina and No. 2 Louisville and then home against Syracuse. Clemson, which was predicted to finish 15th in the ACC, improved to 16-9 and 8-5 under first-year coach Amanda Butler.
“To be honest, I thought we played terrible,” BC firstyear coach Joanna BernabeiMcNamee said. “I credit Clemson. They played really hard, and we did not.
“We are right now just not playing hard enough to compete at this level, and we are not playing smart enough.”
BC shot 29.6 percent from the floor (3-of-21 from behind the arc) and had 22 turnovers with 11 assists. Clemson shot 59 percent from the floor, made 9-of-12 from downtown with 46 points in the paint, 38 bench points and 46 rebounds.
The Eagles’ perimeter offense was expected to improve with the return of junior guard Taylor Ortlepp, who missed the previous two games with a sprained right ankle. The Eagles’ two reliable outside shooters, Ortlepp and freshman Makayla Dickens, were a combined 1-of-16 from the floor and 0-of-10 from behind the 3-point stripe.
Power forward Emma Guy led BC with a gamehigh 19 points and six rebounds. Clemson had five players in double figured led by guard Aliyah Collier (18) and forward Kobi Thornton, who notched her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 boards.
The Eagles’ deficiencies on offense originated their own zone. Butler employed a relentless trapping fullcourt press that eliminated BC’s transition game and forced the majority of the Eagles’ giveaways.
“We weren’t playing smart, and this press was a little bit more aggressive than the presses we’ve seen,” Bernabei-McNamee said.
BC took its final lead, 9-8, on a layup by Guy with 5:49 to play in the first. Clemson responded with a 21-5 run to take a 29-14 lead after one quarter. Thornton and guard Destiny Thomas began the surge with uncontested layups. Collier capped the run with an offbalance heave at the buzzer to put the Tigers up by 15. Clemson closed out the second quarter with an 18-3 explosion to take a 53-23 lead at the break.
“I thought we had a game, and maybe our game plan to start the game wasn’t correct because we gave up 29 in that first quarter,” BernabeiMcNamee said.
After falling behind 62-27 on a pair of Danielle Edwards free throws with 6:37 play in the third, BC began making stops, forced turnovers and established a semblance of flow to its stagnant offense. BC closed out the third with a 16-3 run to make it 65-43. Guy finished the surge with a layup with two seconds to play.