HARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - With 30 seconds left in the Boston College-Nebraska game, members of the BC band put down their instruments and chanted ''Sea-son's o-ver!'' to the fans who had traveled from Nebraska.
No argument from BC women's basketball coach Cathy Inglese, who sent in the reserves at the end as BC soundly defeated Nebraska, 93-76, in the Mideast first-round game of the NCAA tournament.
Next up for BC will be No. 4 seed Virginia (24-8) tomorrow night at 7:35.
If No. 5 seed Boston College (26-8), which hasn't played since the Big East tournament a week and a half ago, had any concern about the layoff, it never showed last night. Except for the Huskers' opening basket, the Eagles led the entire game as the starting five poured in all but 6 points.
They came out running and pressing, and never let up, which was the plan, Inglese said.
''Our message was to pressure them and make them tentative,'' she said. ''We wanted to come out hard, and to put them back on their heels a little bit.''
BC's 93 points were the most since January 1998, as three Eagles scored at least 20 points. Forward Alissa Murphy led with 26, including three 3-pointers and 9 of 9 free throws. Brianne Stepherson added 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and forward Becky Gottstein added 20. Center Jamie Cournoyer had 10 points, and Cal Bouchard had 8 points and four assists.
''The last two days have felt great in shootaround, and I don't think we were worried at all,'' Murphy said.
No. 12 Nebraska (18-13), which seemed to be caught off guard by the aggressive Eagles, shot better than BC (50.9 percent compared with 46 percent), but couldn't hold onto the ball and committed 25 turnovers.
BC, however, outshot Nebraska, 27-14, from the free throw line.
''We were a little shaky, and were just careless with execution,'' said Nebraska high scorer Nicole Kubik, who had 18 points.
Nebraska scored first with a jumper by forward Charlie Rogers, but that 2-0 score was the last time the Huskers would see the lead.
For the next four minutes, it was the Brianne Stepherson show as the sophomore guard drove inside to hit a layup, pulled up on the baseline to land a jumper, and snared 6 of BC's points as the Eagles took an 8-2 lead.
Oh, and the other 2 points? They came on a basket by Gottstein off a pass from Stepherson.
BC held Nebraska to just three baskets and took an 18-6 lead at 14:07 in the first half as Stepherson added a 3-pointer and Murphy added a shot from behind the arc.
Stepherson, who was averaging 8.5 points per game, was probably the biggest surprise to Nebraska's defense, as she moved the ball around and either pulled up to take the shot or dished it off to a teammate.
''Well, my job as a point guard is to penetrate and create for the team,'' said Stepherson, who finished with five assists.
''If I'm able to score, the other team has to play me honestly, and that creates more opportunities for my teammates.''
Kubik was quiet until she scored her first goal at 10:48 in the half to bring the Huskers to within 8 (22-14).
But that was as close as the Huskers would get as the Eagles went on a 14-3 run to take their biggest lead at 36-17. Nebraska would come back in spurts, powered by 6-foot-5-inch center Casey Leonhardt, who finised the half with 10 points. But the spurts didn't matter to the Eagles, who finished the half with a commanding 52-38 lead.
The Eagles stayed in control for the rest of the game, and held onto a double-digit lead until the final buzzer.
Nebraska coach Paul Sanderford looked resigned after the game and simply said, ''We were a step slow in reacting all night.''
And BC was a step fast.
Virginia advanced by defeating Pepperdine, 74-62, in the other first-round game.
Virginia, which was down by 4 at the half, came back with a 19-8 run to go up 47-40 at 13:31, and held onto the lead for the rest of the game.
Guard Telisha Quarles led the No. 4 seed Cavaliers (21-10) with 18 points, as four players scored in double figures. Guard Damaris Hinojosa had a team-high 17 points for Pepperdine (21-10).
Player audio
