ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 3, 2021

Lance White

Pitt Panthers

Postgame Press Conference

Boston College 67, Pitt 56

LANCE WHITE: I'll just start with, again, I think it was overall a year of growth. I think we're a much better basketball team than we were a year ago. But at the same time we still have a long ways to go.

Again, we'll get back to work and really we've got to develop a mentality, and that's our biggest thing of now I think we have talent that can compete, and I think we used this year so much as a year to compete for respect.

Again, I think we got some respect in how we played. But then now we have to learn how to win. It's the hardest part of going from a team that's never won in this conference to a team that can compete in this conference. This is the next hardest step, and I'm excited to have some juniors and seniors -- or juniors at least on the team next season who have been in it, who know what it's about, that now we've got to have a great off-season and then put ourselves in a position to compete in this conference.

Q. Coach, at the end of the second quarter there it seemed like you guys were piecing some good things together. I think it was a 13-0 run you went into halftime with. What went right for you on that run, and why couldn't you sustain it?

LANCE WHITE: Yeah, you know, and again, obviously once we lost Day, it's been trying to piece together as that guard play to make enough plays to be able to fill her role.

And again, today I thought so much of it was trying to find the right combinations and kids that would really buckle down and fight and play hard, and it took us a long time to get that, I thought, during that run, and obviously Jayla was a big piece of that run and we found her. It took us way too long to -- we had way too many turnovers, 22 turnovers, and you can't win if you don't get shots up and if you foul.

We had 20 fouls and 20 turnovers that you can't expect to compete and win with those numbers.

Q. Swartz obviously has been a good player for them all season, but did she surprise you in any way today, and what was she doing exceptionally well did you think?

LANCE WHITE: No, I think over the last four or five games she's really risen -- I think she's really elevated her game and she's been playing extremely well. Obviously sending her to the free-throw line 16 times, that's easy ones that we wanted to make her work for them, but we just fouled her.

Again, two three-point shots that we fouled her on that that's six points right there that makes it more doable.

But again, we're still becoming a disciplined basketball team. We just want hero plays, and so then if we can't guard them then we just foul them. We have to understand value of possessions.

But again, she's done a great job for them and really has taken her game to a new level.

Q. Was just wondering what you thought of Taisha's play today and Emy's. Both of them, I think, sort of at times did some good things for you.

LANCE WHITE: Yeah, no, and I thought Emy played extremely hard. I thought she really rounded a corner for us at Georgia Tech, and that's the best that she's played since she's been here with us.

And then Taisha and those freshmen kids, really I love Tai's length and I'm really excited about having an off-season with her where I think she's got a chance to be a really, really good player for us and stretch the defense.

Her length on defense is really, really good, so I'm excited about those freshmen and sophomores and what they're able to bring. Now we just need consistency. That's the biggest thing is we'll have one player play really well one game and then we lose them for two more.

We just have to get that where you have to do your job all the time, and that's the hard thing about college basketball, is once you show me something then you have to perform it and do it all the time. These kids are still trying to learn that.

Q. I know the NCAA has kind of granted sort of this year of eligibility doesn't really count. So having said that, have you talked with Gabbie about her coming back next year maybe?

LANCE WHITE: Yeah, Gabbie is going to take a look. She may try to go somewhere a little bit closer to home her last year if she can get that. It's been extremely difficult for her to be away from her family this far and do some of that stuff. And so we've talked, and we're going to look at some different options and be able to get her, I think -- that will be her last game here at Pitt, but hopefully she'll be able to continue and we'll find a great spot for her really because she added so much to our team.

I recruited Gabbie to teach us how hard you have to play and the speed, the tempo that she brings. She's a great energy kid, and so she's really helped us in teaching that freshman, now sophomore group of how hard you have to play.

And then with the addition of Jayla this season of really elevating, again, where Jayla has had to teach us so much on just the speed, the tempo and the basketball IQ is that, again, Jayla's basketball IQ is off the charts. And now as those other kids, once you add somebody who can play with that, then that immediately elevates everybody around her to be able to know those reads and be able to make some of those passes and decisions that Jayla makes.