Boston College Women’s Basketball Falls to Providence

Yesterday, the Boston College women’s basketball team lost to Providence by a score of 63-55. This is BC’s 7th loss of the season and 5th road loss. The Eagles is now 5-6 overall and has 1 game remaining before they begin ACC play.

As has been the case since she has started to settle into the pace of college basketball, Milan Bolden-Morris led the Eagles in points (16) and 3-pointers (4). Georgia Pineau led BC in rebounds with 9, and Taylor Ortlepp continued to be one of BC’s more consistent players.

The Eagles are still struggling with turnovers, and had 17 to Providence’s 14 yesterday. This resulted in the Friars scoring 18 points off of turnovers. Providence also showed a lot more depth than BC - 31 points came from the Friars’ bench players, while BC’s bench players accounted for only 10 points.

To get an idea of how much BC has struggled so far this season, here’s a breakdown of the games thus far in relation to previous seasons:

Bryant, 65-42 (W): The Eagles are 4-0 against Bryant, so this was a must-win. Particularly since the first time BC played Bryant was in 2011, which was when things started to go downhill for this program.

Dartmouth, 68-57 (L): This was BC’s first ever loss to Dartmouth, so that is a red flag. Last season, BC beat Dartmouth by 12 points. In 10 wins against New Hampshire’s Ivy, the smallest amount BC has won by is 9 points... and that was in 1989.

Fordham, 55-53 (W): This was a close victory, but since BC lost to Fordham by 7 points last season, it was a reassuring result. The Eagles are now 4-3 against the Rams, also losing to them in 1994 and 1973. BC last beat the Rams in 2004... by 42 points. This is a good example of how much better this program has been in the past and should still be.

Minnesota, 78-68 (L): BC has never defeated Minnesota (but have only played the Gophers twice before). So this wasn’t a terrible loss, particularly since it is the closest BC has ever come to winning against Minny.

Houston, 79-74 (W): The Eagles have only played Houston twice before, but had an easier time winning in both of those games. They won by 21 points in 2005 and by 6 in 2008.

BU, 61-57 (L): The Eagles are now 13-11 against the Terriers. BC beat BU from 2013-2016, lost by 6 in 2012 and 8 in 2011. Prior to 2011, the Eagles last lost to BU during the 1989-90 season. So this was not a great loss, even if it was close.

Columbia, 68-60 (L): Based on the record book, this appears to have been the first meeting of these two teams. But Columbia is a team BC should be able to defeat.

Fairfield, 66-58 (L): BC is actually 3-6 against Fairfield, but beat the Stags in the teams’ last meeting (2008). The Eagles lost to Fairfield by 3 points in 2007, and won the two game before that. 3 of BC’s losses occurred in the 1980s. So even though the record does not show this on first glance, this is another team BC should be able to defeat.

Holy Cross, 70-61 (W): The Eagles are 29-9 against the Crusaders, so this would have been a troubling loss. BC did lost to HC in 2014 but prior to that had a 16 game winning streak going against the Crusaders. Prior to 2014, BC last lost to Holy Cross in 1997. During the golden years in the 2000s, BC routinely beat Holy Cross by as many as 38 points, so again, this is an example of how BC has been able to recruit and coach better in the past.

Seton Hall, 73-53 (L): The Eagles are 27-14 against Seton Hall, so this is another concerning loss. BC lost 71-66 last season, but prior to that had won 6 in a row. The last time BC had lost to Seton Hall before last year was in 2001...when the Eagles lost by only 1 point. The last time BC lost to Seton Hall by 20 points or more was in 1995.

UNH, 64-55 (W): BC is 18-8 against UNH. As of this season, the Eagles have won 11 in a row against the Wildcats, so this was a must win. They last lost to UNH in 1995.

Providence, 63-55 (L): The Eagles are 23-30 against the Friars... but prior to this year had won 14 in a row. Last season, BC won by 4 points and in 2015 the Eagles won by 26. BC last lost to Providence in 1998 - so yet again, this loss is worse than the overall record makes it seem.

Next up, BC has one final non-conference game before starting to play ACC games. BC will play Maine on December 28. The Eagles are 7-2 against the Black Bears, only having lost in 2014 (by 5 points) and 1993 (by 4 points).