Taina Mair's Career Day Powers BC Against EKU
What better way to spend a Tuesday morning than grabbing a W in front of some of your biggest fans and the next generation of talent?It was “Field Trip Day” at Conte Forum on Tuesday when the BC women’s basketball team hosted Eastern Kentucky in front of a raucous, young and energetic crowd and it was the local girl making the biggest impact in a 76-65 win.
Taina Mair (Boston, Mass./Brooks) turned in a career day with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The freshman did most of her damage in the first half with 17 points and also hit a personal-high four 3-pointers. Mair is one of six freshmen in the entire country this season to score at least 20 points, grab five rebounds and dish out five assists in a game.
“It felt good,” said Mair. “I can score the ball, but I was hitting a lot of shots and it definitely put a lot of confidence in me.”
Now at 9-4, the Eagles are rolling and have two more home games left in 2022 against Georgia Tech and Central Connecticut State (12/18 & 12/22) before a massive road tilt against No. 5 Notre Dame on January 1.“I think that’s the theme for the team, is we were pretty balanced,” said head coach Joanna McNamee. “Everybody kind of steps up to the plate when we need it and when I ask for it. We have five kids averaging a good amount of points and everybody contributes on the rebounding end. I think our assists numbers, I’d eventually love to see them go up, it’s just going to take us realizing we can be a little more patient on offense.”
Dontavia Waggoner turned in 14 points, five rebounds and was a force on defense with four steals. Maria Gakdeng chipped in with 14 points and eight boards. This was one of those true team wins where everyone had a little taste of the party. Six players scored at least seven points and six players grabbed at least five rebounds to help dominate the rebounding margin to the tune of plus-23. Ally VanTimmeren's career-high 10 boards led the attack on the glass.
BC struggled from the field in the first quarter and BC fell in a 22-14 hole before Waggoner and Mair scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to four going into the second quarter.
BC flipped the proverbial switch and dominated the second quarter 24-8. The Eagles went on a 12-0 run and held the Colonels scoreless over a 5:33 stretch, eventually building a 36-25 advantage. Mair ended the half with a late jumper that put the Eagles up 42-30 at the half.
EKU cut it to nine at one point, but BC eventually went on another surge and pushed the lead to 20 points. Boston College was extremely opportunistic, turning 21 EKU turnovers into 27 points. BC out rebounded the visitors 53-30, with 20 offensive rebounds. Defense continues to be a staple of the program and the Eagles have now forced at least 20 turnovers in nine games so far this season.
“Shout out and thank you to all the elementary schools that came out today because you guys were loud and amazing in the stands,” McNamee added on the unique atmosphere.