On October 13, Boston College women’s basketball faced UConn, the 2025 National Champions. This early match was an exhibition game hosted by the Basketball Hall of Fame and held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
While the Eagles fell to the Huskies, 84-67, there is a lot to be excited about for their upcoming season. With only two returning players for the Eagles, there was no established chemistry or style of play like there is for UConn.
However, the Eagles brought an impressive amount of fight and energy in every single quarter.
In the first, BC was able to get an early lead, 6-2. This didn’t last, and UConn held the lead for next 37 minutes, but the Eagles put up a fight.
The Huskies responded with an 11-0 run, their longest of the game. Last year’s number one recruit Sarah Strong put up an impressive 11 points, a majority being from the paint. The first quarter ended with a Connecticut 26-16 lead.
The Eagles stayed competitive in the second quarter, limiting the Huskies to only 17 points and adding another 14 on their end. The second quarter ended with UConn 43-30.
The third quarter is when things started to light up for UConn. Senior and 2025 NCAA Women’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player Azzi Fudd went five for five on three point attempts, getting 15 of her 20 points in under ten minutes.
The passing and speed was phenomenal, UConn pulled off a skip pass through three players, successfully finding Fudd wide open in the corner who then sank the three. The third ended with BC at 70-49, a 21 point deficit.
The UConn reign continued in the final quarter, taking their highest lead of 26 points three minutes into the fourth. However, the Eagles outscored the national champions 18-14 in the final quarter and went on a 9-0 run in the last four minutes of the game, effectively cutting the Huskies lead to 17.
Graduate student and former BC women’s lacrosse player Emma LoPinto came off the bench with 2 minutes left and immediately sank the three, going one for one.
This game was not a blow-out by any means, which is a testament to the great potential of the Eagles this year.
The Eagles had some impressive performances. Graduate student Teionni McDaniel scored 23 points, the highest of the match, making seven of ten field goals and going six for six on the line.
Senior Ava McGee, one of two returning Eagles, made her return to the court after over a year off due to injury and ended the game with six defensive rebounds and eight points.
Sophomore guard Athena Tomlinson, the second returning Eagle, confidently executed quick plays, using her 5’5” stature to her advantage. While BC had a 38.9% field goal percentage compared to UConn’s 49.3%, both teams went 10-28, or 35.7%, on three point field goal attempts.
In the post game press conference, Head Coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said that these early exhibition games expose what works and what needs to be adjusted. She cited an 80% defensive rebounding statistic for the Eagles, and said that is BC’s victory against a team like UConn.
The Eagles were effective on the boards, but there were numerous times where UConn players were completely unguarded. It is irresponsible to leave Azzi Fudd, KK Arnold, who directed the game phenomenally, or Sarah Strong open. You also should not have our 5’5” point guard, Tomlinson, guarding 6’2” Blanca Quiñonez.
As mentioned by Coach Bernabei-McNamee, there was a significant height difference between these two teams. BC’s average height is 5’9.8” while UConn averages 6′ 1” on the dot.
BC has a shorter guard-heavy roster. That isn’t always a problem, and smaller players can have the quickness and agility to outperform larger, slower players. But, UConn’s roster is certainly not slow. The Huskies have two 6’5” centers, Jana El Alfy and Gandy Malou-Mamel, while BC doesn’t have any on their roster.
This may be the best way for BC to start their season because they likely won’t face a more formidable opponent than UConn, and they have nearly three weeks to adjust before the start of their official season.
Their season opener will be on Nov 3 vs. Holy Cross at Conte Forum.
poli sci and history major who chronically rewatches movies/tv shows that were popular in middle school to feel something
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