New senator’s daughter pitches in as Boston College upsets No. 6 Duke 61-57

No. 6 Duke upset by Boston College 61-57

BOSTON — Carolyn Swords had 14 points and nine rebounds, going 8 for 8 from the line in the final five minutes to lead Boston College to a 61-57 victory over No. 6 Duke on Thursday night.

It was the first victory for BC (13-10, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) over a ranked team since beating then-No. 2 Ohio State in the second round of the 2006 NCAA tournament.

Jasmine Thomas scored 19 points for Duke (18-4, 6-1), which had been the last unbeaten team in the ACC.

Swords was 10-for-10 from the line, and BC made 20 of 21 free throws in the game.

Ayla Brown, the daughter of newly sworn-in U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, chipped in with six points for the Eagles, who had never beaten Duke since joining the ACC.

Duke had won three straight since losing to No. 1 Connecticut 81-48. But the Blue Devils have played just two games in the past 11 days, and the rust showed early.

Duke fell behind 7-0 but closed the gap by the end of the first half. The game was tied 30-all at halftime on a buzzer-beater by BC’s Jaclyn Thoman. The Blue Devils opened a 41-38 lead before Brown hit a jumper and Swords hit a pair of free throws to give the Eagles the lead.

After Keturah Jackson scored for Duke, Stefanie Murphy gave BC the lead, and Mickel Picco made a 3-pointer to push the Eagles’ advantage to 47-43. Thomas came out of a timeout and hit a floating jumper from the side of the key to tie it at 55 with 59 seconds left.

But Brittanny Johnson made a pair of free throws and then Swords — shaking off a timeout called to ice her — did the same. By the time Bridgette Mitchell’s basket brought Duke within two points, there were only three seconds left.

After Picco’s foul shots iced it and the last second ticked off the clock, the BC players ran to the center of the court to celebrate.

It was the second straight victory for BC, which beat Miami on Sunday after losing its previous four games.