With less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a game between Boston University women's basketball and Georgia Tech, Tony Morgan sprinted down the left side of the court and passed forward to sophomore guard Carla Dunn. Dunn drove to the right side of the hoop with her purpose and made a layup with her right hand while absorbing contact from BC's Andrea Daley.
The basket put BC in a 64-48 hole and echoed the frustration the Eagles experienced throughout the contest.
Despite improved shooting late in the game, BC (11-9, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) struggled to handle the ball and couldn't make 3-point shots efficiently, leading to Georgia Tech (13-13) and lost 69-54. –6, 4–3) Sunday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion. With this loss, BC's winning streak against the Yellow Jackets, which they had held up until the game, ended at two.
The Eagles struggled from the start, allowing Georgia Tech to take an early 7-0 advantage. Their defense did not match the strength of Kayla Blackshear, who scored 16 points in this game, 8 of which came in the first quarter, and he made 4 of 4 shots. It was.
But BC responded to the early upset with an 8-0 run led by sharp-shooting sophomore forward Teya Sidberry. Sidberry scored seven points of his own in the first quarter and finished the game with 15 points on 43 percent shooting.
“She found a way,” BC head coach Joanna Barnabay-McNamee said. “Even if the big guys are a little bigger than her, she still finds a way to get inside them and finish around the basket.”
Just when it looked like BC was starting to settle into the game, the defense capitulated for the rest of the quarter. The Yellow Jackets exploded on a 15-0 run to establish a strong 22-8 lead over BC.
“We were in such a deep hole that we didn't seem to be able to get out,” Barnabay McNamee said.
The Eagles couldn't generate anything offensively, shooting 17.6 percent from the field in the first quarter. BC ended the quarter with a 24-10 deficit.
Despite Georgia Tech's dominance, BC showed resilience in its second start, appearing to have more energy on both offense and defense. Three straight baskets in the paint by Sid Berry, Daley and Kayla Ivey cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to eight points.
However, BC's 3-point shooting was poor and they were unable to close the gap to 8 points for the remainder of the second quarter. Throughout the game, the Eagles shot just 11.8% from beyond the arc.
“You just have to take your time and take your shots,” Barnabay-McNamee said. “We need to improve our 3-point shooting.”
At the start of the second half, Georgia Tech led BC by a score of 32-22 and went on a 9-2 run to extend overtime to start the third quarter. In contrast to BC, the Yellow Jackets moved the ball easily and found open shooters on nearly every possession. Morgan, Blackshear, Inez Noguero and Dunn all scored in double figures for the Yellow Jackets.
“Rather than attacking, we played too much one-on-one,” Barnabay-McNamee said.
As the third quarter continued, BC fought back and cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to nine points, 47-38. Despite that, the Eagles had five turnovers in the quarter and fell just short.
“It's not like one person was killing us,” Barnabay-McNamee said. “It seemed like they all took turns making bad decisions on the ball.”
Similar results were obtained in the final quarter. The Eagles stepped up their defense, forcing seven turnovers and scoring on fast breaks, but were unable to gain momentum due to poor 3-point shooting and their own turnovers.
Dunn closed out the game for the Yellow Jackets, scoring nine points in the quarter, culminating with a dagger basket with three minutes left in the game. BC remains winless on the road in an ACC game.
“They made some really good runs when we weren't playing our best basketball on either end,” Barnabay-McNamee said.
