Chestnut Hill, MA (U-WIRE) -- Houston has seven seniors. Boston College has one - but thankfully Clare Droesch didn't want her career to end.

The senior co-captain scored 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting in BC's NCAA tournament 65-43 first round victory over the University of Houston Lady Cougars.

BC dominated the entire game, never allowing the No. 10 seeded Lady Cougars to get closer than 15 in the second half. A 16-0 run midway through the first half gave the Eagles a 32-12 lead, essentially putting the game out of reach. BC's offensive explosion stood in stark contrast to their low-scoring output in a loss to Villanova in the Big East tournament. The Eagles nearly topped their final score of 37 from that game in yesterday's first half alone, putting 34 points on the board.

"We haven't moved the ball that well lately, but we really did a good job of making the extra pass [today]," said junior forward Brooke Queenan.

Queenan gave Droesch the most help, collecting a double-double with 12 rebounds and 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting. The duo scored BC's first 14 points, making all 13 of their freethrows and combined they were outscored by the entire Houston lineup by just three points.

Droesch, who tied the BC school record with 125 career games played, opened both halves with a bang, knocking down back-to-back three's to start the game and putting in BC's first four points after the intermission. The guard more than doubled her average scoring output despite not playing the final six minutes of the game, going 6 of 6 on foul shots and 3 of 6 behind the three point line.

"I was wide open, and there wasn't really anyone around me," Droesch said about her game-opening threes. "I hit the first one, so I figured I'd shoot until I missed."

The height and athleticism of the Lady Cougars had been the main focus of BC's preparation, with Houston fielding six players over 6 foot 4 inches. But the Eagles negated the Lady Cougars' inside advantage by double teaming the low-post players and forcing them into a dismal 22 percent shooting from the field.

"The job we did on defense was a team effort; we all just did a great job doubling down and scrambling," Queenan said.

The key for BC was controlling Houston star Sancho Lyttle, a 6-4 senior who had been averaging 17 points and 12 boards per game, making her the leading rebounder in the nation. Kathrin Ress and the BC front line held Lyttle to her lowest rebound total of the season with just three boards along with only 12 points on 5 of 17 shooting.

"Coach stressed shutting down the paint, and it was really just a team effort and we executed the game plan," Droesch said.

The game plan paid off, as BC held Houston to its lowest scoring total of the season. Though the Lady Cougars grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, they only led to five points.

Even when Houston attempted to trap BC with full-court pressure for much of the game, Droesch and sophomore point guard Sarah Marshall helped BC break the press and score several easy lay-ups on the other end.

If BC hopes to match its Sweet 16 appearance from last season it will have to overcome a talented and athletic Duke team. The No. 2 seed in the Chattanooga bracket blasted overmatched Canisius 80-48 in the first round. Duke features ACC player of the year Monique Curry, who Droesch faced in high school, and the Blue Devils blocked 10 shots in yesterday's game to set an NCAA season record with 251 - BC only had 79 blocks on the season.

"We're just excited about going to the second round in the NCAA tournament. We're just excited to play," Droesch said.

With both rounds being played in the Dean Smith Center, home to the University of North Carolina, and tomorrow's opponent being Duke, the Eagles are getting a preview of what next season will be like in the ACC.

"It's good to get down here and meet some people ahead of time," head coach Cathy Inglese said. "We are still a Big East school and we play in a super conference and we're going to focus on one game at a time."

BC became the first No. 7 seed to advance in this year's tournament, as both Iowa State and TCU lost on Saturday. They improved to 5-1 all-time in NCAA tournament games and have now won 20 games for the sixth time in seven years.

(C) 2004 The Heights via U-WIRE