Game 9: Gopher Visit Boston College (12-9-18)

Donate To GopherHole
I

Ignatius L Hoops

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 9, 2015
Messages
10,779
Reaction score
3,612
Points
113
A Second ACC/B1G Challenge

Like Minnesota, (8-0) Boston College (8-1) sprinted to an excellent start under a new head coach.. Unlike Minnesota, the Eagles are coming off a poor 7-23 (2-14 ACC) season which led to the firing of Erik Johnson and the hiring of Joanna Bernabei-McNamee from University of Albany. And unlike Minnesota, BC entered the season with low expectations. The Eagles were projected either 14th (media) or 15th (coaches) in the ACC. The #14 Gophers Chestnut Hill visit offers BC a chance to validate their non-conference season.

Boston College returned five players: Junior’s Emma Gay, Georgia Pineau and Taylor-Ortlepp; and Sophomore’s Milan Bolden-Morris and Sydney Lowery. They all get playing time. There are no seniors and seven freshmen. Of the Freshmen, Marnelle Garraud (13.9 ppg) is their best three point shooter (21-48). There are three Aussies (Ortlepp, Pineau, and Lana Hollingsworth) and there is Makayla Dickens, who like Gadiva Hubbard, is a product of Princess Anne High School.

Last season in Williams Arena, Minnesota won 78-68 after pushing the lead out to 20. Three of the impact players from that game return for the Gophers. Kenisha Bell was superb with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Keke, for good measure, was 4-8 from beyond the arc. Destiny Pitts in her first start was double trouble with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Taiye Bello in 25 minutes cleaned up the rest with 6 points and 7 rebounds before fouling out. Boston College, looking like a team ready for a coaching change, only dressed and played seven players.

This season, under new management, the Eagles are committed to playing up tempo, spreading the offense and distributing the playing time. Seven players are averaging 20+ minutes a game and no one averages over 30. The Eagles are scoring 81 points per game and allowing 57.33. BC is shooting .344 from three (76-221) and out rebounding opponents 47.1 to 34.1 per game. Watching tonight’s game against Bryant game, it was clear BC prefers to push the offense; but, when they settle into the half court, they tend to run the offense through 6’3” Emma Guy.

Current BC head coach, Joanna Bernabei-McNamee, was hired to breath some life into the program. After long time head coach, Cathy Inglese, was let go in 2008, both Sylvia Crawley (4 seasons) and Erik Johnson (5 seasons) lost traction. It’s been seven years since the Eagles have finishes higher than 10th in the ACC and that was 7th. Bernabei-McNamee was an assistant on Brenda Frese’s first Maryland staff and like Jeff Walz was there through the Terps title season. She then began her coaching trek eventually landing the University of Albany head coaching position three years ago after Katie Abrahamson-Henderson left. Bernabei-McNamee continued Albany's success and delivered two 12-4 America East conference seasons and was honored as the 2017 NY Basketball Coaches D1 Coach of the Year. Then Boston College came calling.

Bernabei-McNamee was joined in Chestnut Hill by Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer, Yolanda Griffith. Griffith, the 1999 WNBA MVP, was on Bernabei-McNamee’s Albany staff. A paint player, known for her defense and rebounding, Griffith certainly can appreciate Taiye Bello’s start to the season.

Despite only three previous meeting between the Eagles and Gophers (all Gopher wins: 2003, 76-63; 2008, 80-60 and last season 78-68), there are connections between the programs. Before becoming Gopher head coach, Pam Borton served on Cathy Inglese’s BC staff. And, of course, current assistant Danielle O’Banion played for Inglese and Borton at BC before joining Borton at Minnesota and later returning to Williams Arena’s sidelines with Lindsay Whalen.



Wins: @ Rhode Island 88-64, St. Peters 89-57, Holy Cross 89-63, @ Houston 64-57, (N) Loyola Marymount 73-47, (N) Rider 112-61, Columbia 74-60, Bryant 83-46.

Loss: Providence 67-61


Probable Starters:

6’1” F Jr Georgia Pineau 9.4 ppg
5’7” G Fr Marnelle Garraud 13.9 ppg
5’11” F Fr Taylor Soule 8.0 ppg
6’3” F Jr Emma Guy 12.4 ppg
5’10” G Jr Taylor Ortlepp 7.6 ppg

Others:

5’10” G Jr Sydney Lowery 6.8 ppg
5’8” G Fr Makayla Dickens 11.7 ppg
 
Last edited:

When the schedule was first announced, this looked like a sure road win for our Gophers. But now it's looking like this could be a nice matchup. From what we've seen of this year's Gopher team so far, their ability to play defense and rebound should allow them to stay in most games, even on the road, and even if the offense is struggling, as it has in previous games this year. BC with decent height to match up with the Gophers, including at the guard spots. The question may well be can they match the athleticism of Bell and Bello. As Iggy mentioned in his preview, Bell went off for 31 points and 10 boards in last year's game. And Bello also had a decent game off the bench.
 


In quasi comparative scores: Minnesota defeated Incarnate Word 79-39, Houston defeated @ Incarnate Word 79-60 and Boston College defeated @ Houston 64-57 in a close battle. Unless BC starts bombing threes, I expect this game to be similar to Minnesota's road win at Xavier (6-1).
 

Oh, they will be gunning for the #14 Ranked Gophers in this ACC-Big Ten Matchup.

This is a critical matchup for both teams with new coaches who are asserting themselves.

The Eagles are under new coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee with a former reknown WNBA player as Assistant Coach, Yolanda Griffith, known for strong defense and interior play. See Ignatius L Hoops Post #1.

Their uptempo style spreading the offense with good ball movement, prolific 3-point perimeter shooting, good inside the paint play and rebounding may give the Gophers plenty of trouble. I don't think they've seen this type of play with seven players averaging over 20 minutes and no one over 30+ minutes. The Gophers rely on five key players for most of their minutes - Bell, Tai Bello, Lamke, Pitts, and Brunson. They may need to give more minutes to Tomancova, Staples, Kaposi, and Garrido-Perez and the rest of the bench. The second half will test the Gophers' team stamina (see the team stats in Post #3). The Eagles have good ball movement and distribute the ball well with total 169 assists and 18.8 assists average per game after nine games.

It is going to be a cardiac conditioning game with lots of substitutions unless the Gophers can engage more of the same. Their bench scored 28 points against Incarnate Word. The Eagles have been doing this the last nine games.

Beating the Gophers will be a program booster in a formidable ACC conference. They are playing at home which is a huge advantage. Their only lost at home this season is against the Providence Friars.

This is a real test for the Gophers. If the Gophers can walk away with a victory, it will add to the momentum of the Gophers ability to climb up in the Big Ten.

It will give early validation of Lindsay Whalen's emerging coaching style. An emphasis on a strong man-to-man defense with quick guard/foward play, strong interior rebounding, and the ability to be in quick transitions.

The Gophers under Whalen believe in practicing and conditioning hard which will pay dividends in the Big Ten and hopefully in this game. If they rely only on five players for most of the minutes, they run the risk of being gassed.

IMHO, team defense, the Gophers containing the Eagle's outside 3-point shooting, disrupting the Eagles passing rhythm, and countering with their own 3-point threat, and winning the rebounding will be key. It will be interesting to see how Whalen and Company game plan, and make adjustments as the game progresses.

Will the Gophers surprise us with better 3-point shooting? Bell leads the pack with a FG% of 0.400 (4-10) through eight games. The one I am excited about is Staples currently at 0.333 (6-18). Brunson and Garrido-Perez sitting at 0.273 (3-11), and Tomancova at 0.250 (1-4).

Can the Gophers Defense shut down or contain the prolific 3-point shooting?

Eagles 3-point shooting after nine games:
FR 5'7" G Marnelle Garraud 0.438 (21-48);
FR 5'8" G Makayla Dickens 0.375 (15-40);
SO 5'10" G Milan Bolden-Morris 0.364 (12-33);
FR 6'0" G/F Kate Klimkiewicz 0.333 (3-9);
SO 5'10" G Sidney Lowery 0.320 (8-25);
FR 5'10" G/F Lana Hollingsworth 0.200 (1-5).

Can the Gophers Defense slow down the Eagles scoring?

Eagles Scoring Stats (Total & Avg):
Marnelle Garraud FR 5'7" G---------125-----13.9
Emma Guy JR 6'3" F----------------112-----12.4
Makayla Dickens FR 5'8" G---------105-----11.7
Georgia Pineau JR 6'1" F------------85------9.4
Taylor Soule FR 5'11" F-------------72-------8.0
Taylor Ortlepp JR 5'10" G-----------68-------7.6
Sidney Lowery SO 5'10" G ---------61-------6.8
Milan Bolden-Morris SO 5'10" G ---44-------4.9
Clara Ford FR 6'3" C-----------------39------4.3
Kate Klimkiewicz FR 6'0" G/F-------12------1.7
Lana Hollingsworth FR 5'10" G/F---6--------0.9
Jenasae Bishop FR 6'3" C-----------0--------0

Gophers Team Stats 8 Games (Gophers/Opponents):
Scoring Total-------------564-----392
Points Per Game---------70.5----49.0
Rebounds Total-----------380-----273
Rebounds Per Game-----47.5----34.1
Assist Total---------------109-----86
Assist Per Game---------13.6----10.8
Turnovers Total----------130-----141
Turnovers Per Game-----16.3----17.6
Steals Total---------------69------62
Steals Per Game---------8.6------7.8
Blocks Total--------------34-------24
Blocks Per Game---------4.3------3.0

Eagles Team Stats 9 Games (Gophers/Opponents):
Scoring Total-------------729-----516
Points Per Game---------81.0----57.3
Rebounds Total----------424-----307
Rebounds Per Game-----47.1-----34.1
Assist Total--------------169-----88
Assist Per Game--------18.8----9.8
Turnovers Total---------159-----192
Turnovers Per Game----17.7----21.3
Steals Total---------------92------65
Steals Per Game---------10.2------7.2
Blocks Total--------------32-------19
Blocks Per Game---------3.6------2.1

Their only loss this season is against the Providence Friars of the Big East on 11/27/18:

Key Game Stats - Eagles vs Friars:
Points------------57------------61
3-Pt. Plays-------2-16---------9-19
3-Pt Avg---------0.125--------0.474
Rebounds--------38-----------46
Assist-------------9------------10
Turnovers--------14-----------29
Block Shots------2------------2
Steals------------10-----------5

The keys to the Friars' win:
1. Contained the Eagles 3-point shooting to 2-16.
2. Made 9-19 3-point plays.
3. Out-rebounded the Eagles 46-38.

The Gophers can probably learn something by watching the Friar's game film. The Gophers Defense will be stretched and tested with the Eagles having five players that can shoot the threes. The questions is, is that the product of the quality of competition they were playing at home? Or are they really that good?

Boston College has big company in the ACC with five ranked teams:
5 Louisville (9-0),
Virginia Tech (9-0),
10 North Carolina State (9-0),
Florida State (8-1),
Boston College (8-1),
2 Notre Dame (7-1),
15 Syracuse (8-2),
25 Miami Hurricanes (7-2),
Georgia Tech (7-2),
Clemson (6-3),
Duke (6-3),
North Carolina (6-4),
Pittsburgh (6-4),
Wake Forest (5-4),
and Virginia (4-5).

The Gophers are one of three ranked teams in the Big Ten:
Indiana (8-0),
7 Maryland (8-0),
14 Minnesota (8-0),
Michigan State (7-1),
Wisconsin (7-2),
Illinois (6-2),
16 Iowa (6-2),
Northwestern (5-2),
Michigan (6-3),
Purdue (6-3),
Rutgers (5-3),
Penn State (5-4),
Ohio State (3-3),
Nebraska (3-5).
 
Last edited:


Anyone know if we'll be able to get free video of this game? Gopher web site says it's on ACC Extra. Am I correct in assuming that there's a subscription involved with that? If so, I'll tune in to the radio broadcast.
 

tripledouble said:
Anyone know if we'll be able to get free video of this game? Gopher web site says it's on ACC Extra. Am I correct in assuming that there's a subscription involved with that? If so, I'll tune in to the radio broadcast.
Click to expand...

Last nights BC/Bryant game on ACC Extra was free. It sounded like the Minnesota game would be the same.
 

Last edited:

Shades said:
Free to you, maybe? I doubt it’s outright free to anybody, although I’m open to being surprised. I’m thinking the minimum requirement is to be an ESPN subscriber.


Here’s a link to the stream.
http://www.espn.com/watch?id=3454593&_slug_=20-minnesota-vs-boston-college-w-basketball&rb=true
Click to expand...

It’s free if you have a cable provider login. Most games are like this when not televised on a traditional TV. If you need a login, I’m sure you know someone who has cable.
 



Shades said:
Free to you, maybe? I doubt it’s outright free to anybody, although I’m open to being surprised. I’m thinking the minimum requirement is to be an ESPN subscriber.


Here’s a link to the stream.
http://www.espn.com/watch?id=3454593&_slug_=20-minnesota-vs-boston-college-w-basketball&rb=true
Click to expand...

It’s free if you have a cable provider login. Most games are like this when not televised on a traditional TV. If you need a login, I’m sure you know someone who has cable.

That link looks like it might just be straight up free though.
 

You’re pretty much repeating what I said. I’ve been linking to games for years, and I have never seen an ESPN-linked game that was free to non-subscribers of ESPN. That would be like greedy BTN letting non-subscribers watch their games online for free. They would lose money that way because people would stop subscribing to BTN or cable tv, and just watch the games through the Internet. Most likely Iggy is permanently logged onto to whatever interface he uses to watch ESPN games online, so it seems free to him.

What I consider free and whenever I state a game is “free” all you need is an internet connection to watch the game. You don’t necessarily have to be a cable tv subscriber.

Most games that are free are hosted by certain mid-majors (like when I posted the Xavier game link) or the Pac-12 Network for some reason is generous enough to supply free game links for their early out-of-conference home games.
 

https://bceagles.com/news/2018/9/7/...work-extra-and-sec-network-on-xfinity-x1.aspx

This probable explanation-Xfinity.


CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Comcast and ESPN today announced the launch of ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network+ on Xfinity X1, giving Boston College fans the ability to stream over the Internet, expansive coverage of college football with over 150 live games.

In addition to being able to watch Boston College games, more than 5,000 live events will be available annually, including international soccer, Grand Slam tennis matches, college basketball, other collegiate athletics and more.

All content from across the three networks will be searchable with Comcast's X1 voice remote and integrated into the same screens and menus as the other sports programming that comes with a customer's Xfinity TV subscription.

...

ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network + are available on all eligible X1 set top boxes with Xfinity TV and Internet service today.
 

The last time Lindsay faced Boston College (from the Gopher media guide):

March 28, 2004 • Norfolk, Va.

NCAA Tourn. Regional Semifinal

Game summary: History was made at Minnesota’s 76-63 victory over Boston College in the Mideast Region semifinal. The Golden Gophers advanced into the Elite Eight for the first time. Minnesota (24-8) used a 16-3 run in the first three and a half minutes of the second half to build a cushion the Gophers maintained through the rest of the game. The Gophers turned a two-point, 30-28 halftime lead, into a 15-point, 51-37, lead with 12:35 remaining. Shannon Bolden scored seven of her 13 points in the Gopher run. The Eagles rallied with an 11-2 over the next four minutes to cut the Gophers’ lead to seven points on a three-point field goal by Clare Droesch. Minnesota halted the Boston College run by going back inside to McCarville, who scored the next six points for the Gophers. Lindsay Whalen followed suit by scoring Minnesota’s next seven.

McCarville set the tone for the game with 14 points and five blocks in the first half, leading Minnesota to a 30-28 lead. Whalen only scored two points in the half but added 13 in the second half to finish the game with 15 points. The Gophers’ All-American guard also dished out 10 assists in the game for her first double-double of the season. Bolden finished with 13 points but her biggest contribution came on the defensive end of the court where she held the Eagles’ second-leading scorer Amber Jacobs to just seven points on a 1-for-8 shooting performance. Jacobs entered the game averaging 14.9 points per game.
 



Bello with two early fouls. That could hurt.
 


Bello back in playing with two fouls early in the second quarter.
 

Looks like Tomancova is on the bench with a boot on her left foot. Not wearing a uniform.
 

If the ladies were a bit more crisp in their passing and execution, they'd be up by about seven or eight. As it stands, they've failed to take advantage of some clear opportunities to gain some breathing room so far in this one. BC is clearly keying on Bell's drives to the basket and are collapsing every time she makes a move towards the hoop. Need to start kicking some of those out and then knock down the outside shot a bit more.
 

Gophers in foul trouble at the half. Bello with 3, Lamke and Bell with 2. Gopher defense has been solid. Pitts has been terrific with 15 points. IMO, mistake by Whalen to not get Bello out of the game with a minute remaining in the half and the lead. Bello then picked up her third foul. Gophers going to have to grind it out in the second half. Hopefully, Lamke and Bell will be able to avoid picking up additional fouls early in the third.
 

tripledouble said:
Gophers in foul trouble at the half. Bello with 3, Lamke and Bell with 2. Gopher defense has been solid. Pitts has been terrific with 15 points. IMO, mistake by Whalen to not get Bello out of the game with a minute remaining in the half and the lead. Bello then picked up her third foul. Gophers going to have to grind it out in the second half. Hopefully, Lamke and Bell will be able to avoid picking up additional fouls early in the third.
Click to expand...

The last foul committed by Bello was on a poor decision by her. Can't spin and lead with your elbow like that. Need to be smarter and kick it out when you can feel the player on your back, especially when you have two fouls already and it's late in the half.
 

Pitts picked a good game to step up.
 

Bello and Bell both have three fouls early in the third.
 

tripledouble said:
Gophers in foul trouble at the half. Bello with 3, Lamke and Bell with 2. Gopher defense has been solid. Pitts has been terrific with 15 points. IMO, mistake by Whalen to not get Bello out of the game with a minute remaining in the half and the lead. Bello then picked up her third foul. Gophers going to have to grind it out in the second half. Hopefully, Lamke and Bell will be able to avoid picking up additional fouls early in the third.
Click to expand...

With Tomancova out and post foul troubles, they'll need to play Kaposi, K. Bello and Byrne lots of minutes in second half. And not just in final minutes when game is effectively won. Only other alternative is go with a 4-guard 1-post set.
 

Soule for BC doing some flopping today. Can't leave Ortlepp open for threes. She's really hurting them. BC's Guy with three fouls. That's good news for the Gophers.
 

The ladies are doing a poor job of recognition defensively in the third. BC has had three or four wide-open three's as a result which is now making the game that much more difficult.
 

I don't expect K. Bello or Byrne to play in this game, unless the winner has already been determined. Those two not yet ready for prime time.
 




<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.espn.com/core/video/iframe?id=25491627&endcard=false" allowfullscreen frameborder="0"></iframe>.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom