Sports
Notre Dame women’s basketball falls to Boston College, looks ahead to trip to Pittsburgh
J.J. Post | Friday, January 21, 2022
Notre Dame women’s basketball suffered their second conference loss of the season Thursday night, falling to Boston College in Chestnut Hill 73-71. The loss was a heartbreaker for the Irish, who led by six points with under five minutes remaining, but went cold from the field in the final minutes of the game. Notre Dame had three separate offensive possessions within the final ten seconds of the fourth quarter with a chance to win the game, but the first resulted in an offensive foul and the next two ended in missed shots.
Notre Dame was unable to produce an answer for Eagles guard Cameron Swartz, who had 28 points and four assists while playing nearly every minute of the game. Swartz was complimented by fellow senior Taylor Soule, who posted 15 points. More important for the Eagles, however, was Soule’s dominance on the glass, as the forward had a game high ten rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end to give Boston College critical extra possessions.
The Irish spread out the scoring in the defeat, with five different players reaching double figures in points. Junior forward Sam Brunelle came off the bench to lead the way with 15 on the night. Freshman guard Sonia Citron was another major contributor off the bench, adding 13 points, four assists, and a team high eight rebounds. Freshman guard Olivia Miles was also an asset for the Irish, dishing a game high seven assists to go with her 12 points and 3 rebounds.
Next on the docket for the Irish is a trip to Petersen Events Center to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Panthers are 10-8 on the season so far, though they’ve only managed a 1-6 mark in ACC play on the year. Their lone win came against Wake Forest at home last Sunday, dispatching the Demon Deacons 65-57.
Pittsburgh is paced by senior guard Jayla Everett, who leads the team with 13.9 points per game. Everett isn’t just a pure scorer either — she’s a key part of Pitt’s defense, adding 18 steals and 15 blocks.
Another key Pitt player to watch out for is junior forward Amber Brown. Brown leads the team in total minutes played and is the only Panther to have started every game. She’s done impressive work on the stat sheet as well — currently third on the team in points, rebounds and assists per game, and second in steals. Brown does a little bit of everything on the floor for the Panthers, and Notre Dame being able to limit her presence will be key to Notre Dame’s success on Sunday.
The Irish are now 13-4 and 4-2 in conference play heading into their weekend trip to Pittsburgh. The game tips off at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon and will be televised on ACCNX. The matchup will be their second in a three game road swing, before they head to Charlottesville on Monday to take on the Virginia Cavaliers.
