 Media Credit: Alex Trautwig Sophomore forward Carolyn Murphy tallied a career-high 33 points against the Crusaders.
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By Joe Bilotto
Heights Staff
Center Carolyn Swords knew that the Boston College women's basketball team's offense would go largely through her and forward Stefanie Murphy before the season began. If this isn't enough pressure for the sophomore, opposing teams are fully aware of the Eagles' plan and focus exclusively on Swords and Murphy.
Sometimes, however, the opposing force is not strong enough. While Holy Cross tried to stop Swords, she had a career game as BC defeated the Crusaders, 82-69, on the road in Worcester, Mass., on Tuesday. Swords had a career-high 33 points and 15 rebounds in the victory. With this victory, the Eagles moved to 2-0 on the year while the Crusaders fell to 0-2.
Swords was nearly unstoppable during the game, shooting 15 of 17 during the game and tying a record at the Hart Center for the most field goals in a game in almost 20 years. She was busy setting other records as well, namely the BC record for most field goals made in a single game, breaking the previous record of 14 that had stood since 2003. The effort was Swords' sixth career double-double.
The Eagles had a 30-21 lead at the half, yet this was before Swords and the rest of the team truly got going; she was five of six from the floor in the first half, and BC shot a paltry 30 percent from the field. In the second half, however, things became a lot closer, as the Crusaders began to hit their 3-pointers, going nine- for-15 in the first six minutes of the half. At that point, BC held just a five-point advantage.
Although Holy Cross continued to drain 3-pointers, the Eagles never deterred from their game plan, consistently feeding Swords and Murphy down in the post. Murphy had 10 points and seven rebounds in the contest.
Despite constant efforts on the part of the Crusaders to fight their way back into the game, the hard efforts of guards Mickel Picco and Brittanny Johnson kept the Eagles ahead to stay. With just over six minutes to play, Picco silenced a six-to-two opposing run with a 3-pointer, giving BC a 13-point lead. Picco finished the game with 19 points, and she has hit from beyond the arc in 10 straight games.
The Eagles ended the second half with an impressive 69 percent shooting percentage from the floor, including five-of-eight shooting from three-point range. While Holy Cross was only a little worse in shooting efficiency, the Eagles defense limited their shots and played aggressive defense, holding their opponent to 12 less shots than they attempted.
Crusader forward Bethany O'Dell played the entire game and pitched in 18 points, while guard Briana McFadden led the team with 21 points and six rebounds.
Hofstra will be next to attempt to stop the tandem of Swords and Murphy tonight at 7 p.m. After finishing second in scoring and rebounding to Murphy last season, Swords knows that even if she can be contained, slowing down her partner as well will be a tall order.
Spring Break
