The BC women’s basketball team is not only right in the thick of an absolutely wide open ACC race, they might be the dark horse that could stun the rest of the conference when everything is all said and done.

The Eagles currently sit at 11-4 overall and 1-1 in league play while waiting for their next game against No. 5 Notre Dame to open 2023 on January 1st at noon.

BC is one of 13 teams in the conference with at least nine wins, and the other two teams - Miami and Pitt - have seven wins.

This year’s ACC is absolutely loaded and BC has shown it can compete with anyone so far, especially if you look at where they are in some key statistical categories.

Offensively, Dontavia Waggoner is leading the way with 13.3 points per game, which puts her at 15th overall in the ACC. Ta’Niya Watson from Florida State sits atop the ACC, averaging 25 points per game. Maria Gakdeng is second on the Eagles in scoring with 11.8 points per game, good enough for 25th overall in the conference.

Defensively is where the Eagles are going to usually be at their best, and it’s Waggoner leading that charge while averaging 3.3 steals per game, which is third in the ACC. Her teammate Taina Mair is third with 2.5 steals per game. Mair is also averaging 7.5 assists per game, putting her second in the conference, only behind Olivia Miles from Notre Dame. Waggoner is also ninth in the conference in defensive rebounding, pulling down an average of 7.1 per game. Gakdeng is 12th with 6.9 defensive boards per game.

As a team, the Eagles ate currently 11th in the ACC in points scored, averaging 70.3 points per game. Florida State leads the ACC with a whopping 87.5 PPG. On the flip side of that, the Eagles’ defense has been one of the best in the conference, giving up just 60.5 PPG, which is good enough for sixth behind Florida State, Pitt, Miami, Syracuse and Louisville. If BC can maintain that defensive identity and up the scoring just a bit more, the sky might be the limit for Joanna McNamee’s squad.