ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 3, 2022

Sue Semrau

Erin Howard

Florida State Seminoles

Postgame Press Conference

Florida State 63, Boston College 58

SUE SEMRAU: I'm really proud of the effort that our team -- it wasn't just today, it's been a process. It's been progress by process. We had a lot of injuries early. We had some COVID issues. We had to make up some games, and they just stayed faithful. They stayed looking at what was next, what was next, what was next.

That's a really good Boston College team. They are so talented. They've got tremendous weapons at every position, and I thought, you know, we defended them about as well as we could, and I thought they're a great team.

Obviously they made a big run at the end, and just happy we were able to sustain that.

Q. Obviously, Erin, you had a tremendous night from three. Did you have to adjust to get her some more looks from three throughout the game, or did they just come naturally? And, Erin, how are you feeling just seeing those drop?

ERIN HOWARD: It feels great to see them drop. I've been shooting decently over the season, but the past few games they haven't been falling. So it's a big confidence booster to see them go in tonight.

SUE SEMRAU: And I just thought her teammates did a great job of finding her. We knew where we wanted to go with the basketball to find different players at different times, and her teammates did a great job of finding her. She was really smooth tonight.

Q. Coach, my question is just the frustrating defense on Cameron. Was that by design to take her all the way out of the game and make the others beat you, or --

SUE SEMRAU: No, she's a great player, leading scorer in the conference, and we did a good job on her last time, too.

I felt like mixing up Morgan and Sammie on her, their length maybe bothered them a little bit, but I think the biggest thing was the way we defended the ball screen action, and that helped us defensively to -- I was stunned when I saw that we held her to nine points.

Q. Just out of curiosity, you've obviously been to this point where you've won a quarterfinal matchup before, but how does it change year over year and how difficult is it to sustain success at this level of the ACC Tournament?

SUE SEMRAU: I appreciate the comment. I think that the ACC Tournament when you look at it, I mean, it's -- I told the players, it's the granddaddy of them all. We were the first to have a women's ACC Tournament, a women's conference tournament, and it's been an amazing tournament.

It's not easy to come in after a brutal season and face somebody you faced 10 days ago. I really credit our players. I credit them for the energy, the focus that they had coming in. It's a different team every year, and you've got to continue to talk through it every single year.

Q. You guys had a big double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. Could you talk a little bit about what happened there with the turnovers and with their pressure that really got to you at the end of the game there?

SUE SEMRAU: Yeah, it was by design. We knew that it was a TV game and we wanted to keep the audience -- you know, it's not something that Boston College does. I thought we just relaxed, that's all. Fortunately we had built a big enough lead that we were able to hold off.

You know, that's something that is pretty uncharacteristic of us, and just glad that we were able to weather the storm.

ERIN HOWARD: Yeah, I think it definitely caught me by surprise a little bit. I'm the one who takes out the ball, so I'll take credit for a lot of that at the end. It was just kind of challenging honestly to figure out where to throw the ball. And then having the five seconds, not having too many time-outs left, and also trying to be poised, but maybe being a little too poised at times. Just being relaxed but not running the baseline and stuff.

It definitely caught me by surprise, and looking forward to improving on that next game.

Q. What are some of the things that Morgan does that maybe we don't notice? Because I thought she had a huge impact on the game and she only had 11 points when I looked up at the scoreboard. What are some of the hidden things she did for you today?

ERIN HOWARD: I'll give credit for -- I feel like she's grown so much this year. Usually a lot -- if she's not scoring too much in the first half or she'll miss a shot or two starting off, she'll kind of just check out, but I feel like this game and like recently she's done such a better job of just staying with us and being a presence on offense, defense, always crashing the glass, guarding Swartz. She helps so much on the ball and off the ball offensively and defensively.

And then at the end, obviously she came through big. She had that big pull-up jumper and then the lay-up to really ice the game. She impacts the game in almost every way. And then she's just such a big presence. Everyone knows who she is. She's First Team All Conference, so you have to know where she is on defense, offense, the opposing team.

Q. Coach, Boston College gets back in the game but Sarah hits those four straight shots, Morgan gets the shot right at the buzzer. This is really the third straight game that feels like you guys have really been pushed to the limits, really, really close contest. What does it say about this team and how much do they know that they need every single one of these from here on out?

SUE SEMRAU: It's kind of a Tallahassee thing. Leonard and I talk all the time about making the games exciting. Both of us have been fortunate that we have some players that have a lot of fortitude and just the strength, and we've grown in that, to be honest. I think throughout the course of the year, we're getting more and more confident with our point guard play and just the different combinations that we're playing.

But it does, it just says a lot about their mental toughness and their growth throughout the season, and it's a perfect time for it to be coming out.

Q. A month ago you guys played NC State and lost in that game. What did you learn from that game, and have you guys grown since that game?

SUE SEMRAU: Well, all I remember about that game -- well, the main thing I remember is they came out shooting it lights out, and it was at their place, and they're so talented in so many ways. They've got inside, outside, they've got great guard play. They're really -- obviously they're one of the top teams in the country for a reason.

We're going to go and we're going to get ready, and we're looking forward to battling them tomorrow.