After dominating Boston College for six quarters of basketball this week and holding a 17-point halftime lead Wednesday, the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team looked like it was well on its way to advancing in the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament.
But the Eagles opened the third quarter with a 14-1 run to kick-start a huge second-half comeback and went on to beat the Orange 76-73 in a first-round game at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
The loss ends Syracuse’s season. The Orange, the No. 13 seed in the tournament, finish with a 12-18 record. The 16-16 Eagles, seeded No. 12, move on to face the No. 5 seed, North Carolina, at 11 a.m. Thursday.
The Orange entered the tournament on a two-game winning streak, including an 82-57 drubbing of the Eagles on Sunday at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Just like Sunday’s game, the Orange dominated the first half on Wednesday. The Orange were up 16-4 less than six minutes into the game.
SU has 22 points in the paint in the first half, outrebounded BC 20-14 and had a 15-0 edge in second-chance points. Kyra Wood had 11 first-half points and Georgia Woolley 10. The Orange were 5-of-9 from three-point range in the half, while Boston College was 0-for-4. The Orange led by as many as 19 points late in the second quarter before heading to halftime ahead 45-28.
But things changed quickly in the second half. The Eagles started the third quarter on a 10-0 run, and cut the lead to four points before the Orange made its first field goal of the quarter, a three-pointer by Sophie Burrows nearly five minutes in. The Orange, who had six turnovers in the first half, had seven in the third quarter alone.
The Eagles tied the game at 60 early in the fourth quarter, but the Orange rallied to take the lead back. A jumper by Wood put SU up 72-66 with 3:30 left, but that would be the last field goal of the game for the Orange.
JaKayla Thompson gave Boston College its first lead of the game, 74-73, when she hit a jumper with 1:27 left.
It remained that score when the Orange got the ball with 20 seconds remaining. Wood got off a shot inside with 8 seconds left, but it wouldn’t fall and BC got the rebound.
Teya Sidberry hit a pair of free throws to make it 76-73 with four seconds left. Woolley got off a three-pointer before the buzzer despite tight coverage, but it fell short.
Dontavia Waggoner had a career-high 32 points, 20 in the second half, to lead Boston College. Sidberry had 24 points and 17 rebounds.
Burrows led the Orange with 23 points, while Woolley had 16 and Wood 15.