ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 4, 2021

Emily Engstler

Syracuse Orange

Postgame Press Conference

Syracuse 67, Boston College 61

Q. 15 rebounds today. It didn't look like anyone could stop you going up for the boards. What was going so well for you going up on the glass?

EMILY ENGSTLER: I don't know. They kind of fell to me, but I was going up strong. I felt a little bouncy. I couldn't really make a lot of my shots, so I guess I figured let me do something else that kind of can help us get a win. Every time I went for a rebound, regardless if they grabbed me or not grabbed me, I was stuck like glue. I was catching everything.

Q. Playing without Tiana today, what was it like out there getting your first start and stepping in and trying to fill that role?

EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I mean, I've started before my whole life, so that didn't feel any different. But yeah, without Tiana, that was definitely -- that was hard. You know, I think that Tiana is a good point guard and we definitely can't wait for her to come back.

But Kiki is also a very good point guard, and when we move the bigs kind of up one position, I think that we're fine. Digna is a good basketball player. She's actually probably the one player on the team besides Tiana who knows every single position and maybe can explain it to every person and maybe Kiki, on the team, without stuttering.

So even if she might not be as quick as a 1, 2, and me neither, she knows exactly what she's doing, she's experienced, and that's exactly what we needed. I'm proud of us. I think we stepped up as a team who maybe people thought we'd lose without Tiana, I don't know, but I think we did a good job, and now when Tiana comes back, I think we're going to do even better.

Q. Coach Q says that you guys started practicing with this lineup earlier this week in preparation in case Tiana couldn't play. How far did this team come just in learning to play with this lineup from the beginning of the week to today?

EMILY ENGSTLER: I mean, when we -- yeah, when we say that, we're talking more about like walk-throughs and stuff like that. It's not necessarily that different, when you think about it. We kind of do that a lot. It really actually kind of felt pretty normal except I was back in the starting lineup. But we worked on it. We did what we were supposed to do. We had to be quick with our scouting, not knowing who we were going to play next and stuff like that. But we worked with the best that we could, and I think it came out well.

Q. You mentioned this was the first time you've started in over a year. Did it feel any different going on the court and what was it like getting ready for the game?

EMILY ENGSTLER: No, it didn't really feel too different. Maybe like -- I guess it was a little weird to start off the game, but it didn't feel different once we started playing. I thought maybe I would be a little bit more tired. But I was talking to Kiki earlier and we were actually kind of surprised how we weren't as tired. I play a lot but I don't play 40 minutes a game. It was a little adjustment, but I feel like it felt the same, actually. I'm actually pretty happy about that.

Q. Kiki kind of said that it took her a little while to get going. She missed her first four shots. How do you feel like she settled in? What was it like having her at the point as opposed to Tiana?

EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, Kiki missed the first couple shots but then she started going crazy and I was looking at the bench and I was going this baby food on Boston College. Kiki is one of my favorite players to play with, to watch while playing with, to watch on TV. Once she's on, she's on. Even when she's scoring like six points in a row, then she'll find her other teammates and stuff and then go back to scoring six points in a row in tough situations. And she gets hacked all the time. Good thing she gets some fouls, but she goes in really strong. She's a strong guard. I love playing and watching Kiki.

It was different because we're used to two smaller regular guards in that position, and like now it felt just like one and then a bunch of bigs. So that was a little weird. But it wasn't too different because I played with Kiki all last year, so I mean, to me Kiki has always been my point guard in that form, like, and Tiana. They both have always been my point guards, so it didn't feel like anything crazy.

Even when Tiana is playing, they switch from 1 to 2 sometimes, too, so I think that's helped Kiki be prepared to play the one-on-one game.

Q. I saw you yell in the post and you were like, Give me the ball, you wanted the ball, you made a phenomenal move in the post. I don't know if you remember it but you did a little pump fake, got under her and missed a little bunny at the top. Talk about how confident you are in your offensive abilities, but sometimes you're not in the rhythm of the game or the offense. Speak to me a little bit on that.

EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I'm actually glad you asked that question because I hated those rims. I couldn't buy a bucket today. I don't know what it was. Every time I went up, I went up confidently. I wasn't afraid to keep going up. I'm confident in my post rims, I'm confident in my jump shot, but sometimes it just doesn't go in. But it's okay. I work on those things. And I thought I was getting fouled a lot, so demanding the ball was just a way for me to keep going up and prove to them that -- I work really hard in all these games. I think I've improved so much as a player. I don't really talk to refs a lot, so if you see me doing it, I really must feel like I'm getting hurt down there.

Yeah, so I was just hoping to get more foul calls for us and stuff like that. But it'll come. We've got more games to play.

Q. How big is it to get that first one? You talk about kind of getting on a run and obviously you got a start with a win. How big is that one?

EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, I think this was -- I was actually -- we were all talking about it earlier before the game. I think this was the game to win, and every other game might come a little easier. I only say that because it's really hard to beat a team three times no matter who they are. We just played them, and we didn't have Tiana. So we get through this game, I feel that we're here ready for some revenge on Florida State because I don't think we should have lost that game, and I don't think we're going to lose tomorrow, and then once we get past them, we play maybe Louisville. Okay, come on. We want to play these teams again. I swear. We're pumped to play these teams again. We wanted to get Boston College out of the way just to play these teams again and prove ourselves because we didn't get a chance to play Louisville twice, we weren't going to play Florida State twice. So we're ready to do. Win or lose we're putting into everything into it. We want a ring.

Q. Going ahead what's your mentality for this team and how can everyone be on the same page?

EMILY ENGSTLER: Yeah, we need to just stay focused. Sometimes when we lose, we kind of fall for a couple days into the loss, but we're very good at shaking it off, actually. We'll lose two games in a row and win the third, and the third will be the hardest game out of all three. So that's kind of how Syracuse is. We've always kind of been like that. I'm not saying it's the best thing, but it works for us.

We're so happy to be here. I think we know that our regular-season games, good or bad, is behind us. So we're so excited to feel like we're starting fresh and show everybody what we've got. And I'm actually really excited to play Florida State again because that last game, that last time, uh-uh, it was not a good loss, and I'm ready to show everyone what I have the next game, and I bet the rest of my teammates, too.