With less than 15 seconds left in the game, Syracuse’s fate was in Briana Day’s right hand. The center was isolated in the post against Boston College’s Mariella Fasoula, who matched Day in height, but was physically stronger.

Fasoula knocked Day back a few feet and spun right for a layup that would’ve given the Eagles a two-point lead. Day recovered, jumping with her right arm extended to knock away the shot. She snagged the ball out of the air and gave Syracuse one last possession to try and win the game.

“Briana Day took the game over,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “To get two or three stops late and six rebounds in the quarter, it was tremendous. That was huge for us.”

She grabbed 12 rebounds in the second half, including six in the fourth quarter, and forced multiple defensive stops down the stretch. Her final block and rebound set the Orange up for its final, and game-winning, possession with just nine seconds left. Day had a season-high 15 boards, added seven points and her play was crucial in the final minutes of Syracuse’s (15-6, 5-3 Atlantic Coast) 62-61 win over Boston College (13-7, 1-6) at the Carrier Dome on Wednesday.

“She just has a nose for the ball and I’m really proud of her,” SU guard Brittney Sykes said. “Especially the last play, we needed, well the last two plays she got the defensive rebound and the offensive rebound on the opposite end. … That’s what she’s great at.”

In the final seconds of the first quarter, Day grabbed guard Sykes’ missed layup amid a crowd of three opposing players. She stepped with her right foot through the scrum and converted on the lay in, but it was a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster half for the center.

Through the first 20 minutes, she had just three rebounds and two points. On the other end, Boston College’s centers scored 15 of the team’s 31 points.

Whether it was Fasoula, who Hillsman noted before the game as an all-conference player — who excelled at making moves and scoring in the post — or her counterpart, Katie Quandt, nearly every inside bucket was the same. First a pass inside, then a spin move and an underhand toss at the hoop. The centers used their long arms to reach around Day and score.

In the second half, Hillsman told Day to stop playing behind Boston College’s centers and to jump out in front of passes to deny the ball down low. From the bench, assistant coach Tammi Reiss yelled at her to “grind it out.” On her own, though, Day started getting out in front of the go-to spins and forcing the bigs away from the basket.

“Just move my feet, really that’s all I could do,” Day said. “… I guess that worked.”

Day swarmed Fasoula, forcing her to take a tough shot that missed from the outer edge of the lane. The next time down, Day slid in front of the spin to the left and pressured the layup enough that Fasoula sent it wide off the backboard.

With 1:49 left in the game and Syracuse ahead by two points, Boston College lobbed a pass in to Fasoula. Day leapt forward to swat the pass, but missed and Fasoula converted the game-tying layup behind her.

Day dropped her head and trudged down the court.

Three times in its last four possessions, Boston College went to Fasoula inside. All but once, Day came up with the stop.

And with nine seconds remaining and a game-winning basket just a few feet, Day redeemed herself, denying Fasoula’s attempt at heroics and giving the Orange a chance to win the game.

“Briana Day was huge down the stretch, “ Hillsman said. “… Getting us another possession and that’s what it’s all about for us.

Published on January 27, 2016 at 11:34 pm

Contact Jon: [email protected] | @jmettus