Feb. 11, 2010

BC-UNC Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Boston College women's basketball team earns its third straight victory and second consecutive against a Top 25 team with a 69-62 ACC win over No. 18/20 North Carolina in front of 2527 fans at Carmichael Arena on Thursday night.

"We got off to a very slow start, but I think we are beginning to peak at the right time," said BC Head Coach Sylvia Crawley, whose team defeated Duke on Feb. 4, 61-57. "We haven't peaked yet, and that's the scary part for this team. This is around the time of the season where you want your team to begin to peak, and I think we're in the right spot at the right time."

Boston College (14-10, 5-4 ACC) used a 9-0 run with 5:30 to play to seal the win. The Eagles went up by two on a layup by Ayla Brown (six points, two rebounds, one block) at 6:56. UNC's Tierra Ruffin-Pratt hit a jumper to tie the game at 53-53 but the Eagles would run off nine straight points, including five points from Stefanie Murphy (12 boards, nine points, five assists).

Murphy's biggest basket came with 53 seconds to play. The junior forward grabbed a missed shot and flipped it over her shoulder to beat the shot clock and give BC a six point lead with 53 seconds to play.

Boston College opened the game on a 6-0 run converting on two North Carolina (16-7, 4-5 ACC) turnovers. At the first timeout, BC held a 10-4 lead as sophomore Jasmine Gill, who earned a start, had four quick points. The Eagles lead grew to five points as Mickel Picco hit a three -pointer from the corner with 7:30 to play in the half.

The Eagles went cold and the Tar Heels took advantage, scoring the final five points to take a 34-31 halftime lead. BC shot just 37 percent from the floor.

Junior Carolyn Swords led Boston College with 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, while freshman Kerri Shields notched a career-high 13 points. Picco added 12 points, while Jasmine Gill added nine points and seven boards.

The Eagles shot 40 percent for the game and committed only 13 turnovers. UNC shot 38 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 15 times.

Game Notes

• The Eagles were short handed tonight at freshman Mary Nwachukwu has the flu and senior Brittanny Johnson missed the game with an ankle injury.

• This was BC's first win against UNC since joining the ACC. It was Coach Crawley's first win against her alma mater since becoming the BC Head Coach last season.

• Freshman Kerri Shields had a career-high in shots taken (10 shots); points scored (13) and minutes played (24).

• Junior Jaclyn Thoman played a season-high 38 minutes, had seven assists and committed just four turnovers.