Eight ACC teams were invited to play in the women's NCAA Tournament. Boston College was on the outside looking in as the next-best team in the conference.

So when the Eagles entered the WNIT field, the spotlight was on them: a Power Five team, essentially a No. 1 seed, with a clear-cut path to the tournament's Final Four.

To get there, they'd have to beat regional foes that, although qualified, don't have nearly the resumes or strength of schedule that BC has.

"We keep saying it: 'Don’t let them surprise us. Don’t underestimate them,'" senior guard Cam Swartz said following the Eagles' 94-68 win over Quinnipiac Monday night.

"We gotta play our game. We gotta keep playing 100% every time. Coach always says, 'Play like we’re down two with 40 seconds left,' and I think we did a really good job of that tonight."

Two rounds down. The Eagles have advanced to the WNIT Sweet Sixteen by pulling away from Maine and Quinnipiac for an average margin of victory of 25.5 points.

Before BC takes on Columbia in the regional semifinals, it's time to take a look back at the Eagles' decisive victory over Quinnipiac.

Soule is a capable jump shooter. She can spot up from the free throw line or either block when she wants, and her stroke is pretty smooth. The senior forward is especially effective coming off ball screens. Soule can even knock down a long-range shot, even though she's only 2-of-11 from that territory this season. But there was no need for her to rely on her jumper Monday night against the Bobcats.

"I just went into the game knowing how dominant I can be," Soule said. "My teammates always tell me I can hit my jumpshots but not to settle. And so today I didn’t."

Most of Soule's work was down around the cup as she made 14-of-18 field goal attempts and 5-of-6 free throws en route to a career-high 33 points. She also tied a personal best with 16 boards, seven of which came on the offensive end.

Soule was a big reason why BC posted 15 second-chance points and outscored Quinnipiac, 48-22, in the paint.

Swartz, Soule's partner-in-crime, was humming, too. Swartz finished the regular season as the leading scorer in ACC play after stitching together six straight 20-plus-point performances. But then she struggled mightily in both the Eagles' second-round ACC Tournament loss to Florida State (3-of-10 FG, 11 points) and their first-round WNIT win over Maine (2-of-8 FG, 7 points).

Swartz righted the ship against Quinnipiac with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. That included a trio of 3-pointers. She also pulled down eight boards—her most in a game since Feb. 17 at FSU. And she had zero turnovers for the first time since Feb. 6 at Virginia Tech.

"It’s always good when your shot’s falling," Swartz said. "It’s pretty simple. Coming off the last game and then FSU, definitely [getting back on track] is an improvement for me, especially just not letting my confidence to lack continuously."

When you shoot close to 53% from the floor, it can feel like everything is going right offensively. So it wasn't too much of a surprise that the Eagles ended the first and second quarters by beating the buzzer with 3-pointers. First up was Kaylah Ivey. Then, before halftime, Makayla Dickens did the honors. They combined for seven points off the bench.

BC got out to a fast start, outscoring the Bobcats, 20-9, in the opening frame. After that, though, Quinnipiac hung around with a similarly efficient offense. In fact, the Bobcats shot close to or north of 60% in the second and third periods. During that span, they were a combined 8-of-12 from beyond the arc, too.

Quinnipiac's success from deep has to be alarming for BC. The Bobcats rounded out the night 10-of-19 from downtown. They shot 31.7% from 3-point land on the year, and just 26.5% of their points came from trifectas this season—less than the DI average, per HerHoopStats.

Except, when it mattered most, head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee's team dug deep. The Eagles protected and expanded upon their 14-point lead in the final frame. BC held Quinnipiac to 4-of-16 from the floor, including 1-of-3 from long range, in the fourth quarter.

"I thought going into the fourth quarter, everybody kind of just looked more inspired to say, 'Hey, we’re gonna be on lockdown mode,' Bernabei-McNamee said. "And, defensively, I think we’re a team that—when we play well defensively—kind of everything else comes."

This team has the "championship or bust" approach to the WNIT, and it's showing. BC outplayed the Bobcats in practically every way Monday. It won the battle on the glass by 13 rebounds, committed six fewer turnovers yet outscored Quinnipiac by 18 on the break and converted 14 more field goals.

The win was a stepping stone to the ultimate goal, though.

"We want to make sure everybody knows what Boston College women’s basketball is made of and how special this group is," Bernabei-McNamee said.