The women’s basketball team dropped their last game of the regular season, losing to Boston College 63-52 Sunday afternoon. The Hurricanes ended the regular season on a six-game losing streak, losing 11 of their final 12 games.
Senior guard Maurita Reid paced the Hurricanes (9-20, 2-12 ACC) with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. Center Carolyn Swords led the Eagles with 16 points and eight rebounds.
The game remained close for most of the contest, with Miami displaying a lot of energy on both ends of the court. But Boston College (19-9, 7-6 ACC) took over down the stretch and ended the game with a 20-4 run.
“I’m really excited about this win,” Boston College head coach Cathy Inglese said. “I’m pleased with our poise, especially in the last 10 minutes.”
In the first half, Miami did an excellent job pressuring Boston College defensively and forced the Eagles into 14 turnovers. But BC outscored the Hurricanes 12-6 in the paint, and only trailed Miami 24-23 at halftime.
The two teams stayed within close distance of each other for much of the second half, but Miami’s late drought decided the game. Boston College also turned up their defensive pressure, forcing Miami into a number of possessions that ran late into the shot clock. The Canes ended the game shooting 32 percent, while the Eagles shot 52 percent.
“In the last five minutes, we became a different team,” Miami head coach Katie Meier said. “To BC’s credit, they became a different team.”
As the end of the regular season, the game also served as the final home contest for the team’s two seniors, Reid and Carla Williams. Williams made a significant impact off the bench, grabbing six rebounds and recording a career-high six steals.
“The best part about these two kids is that they’ve never turned their backs on the program,” Meier said. “They’ve always stood up and they’ve been there. I love what they’ve brought to the program.”
Reid finished the regular season as the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game.
“Maurita is a kid that’s involved in every play on the court,” Meier said. “Maurita’s never lazy and she’s never a quitter.”
With the regular season now finished, the team looks ahead to the ACC women’s tournament, which will begin March 6. Although the Canes will go into the tournament as the ACC’s lowest seed, Meier believes that the other teams in the conference will still be expecting Miami to put up a fight.
“I think anyone who draws us is going to be nervous,” Meier said. “This is not a team that is an easy win for anybody. We’re going to be a hungry, aggressive, nothing-to-lose team. We play well in that situation.”
Joel Brown may be contacted at j.brown22@umiami.edu.