ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 3, 2022

Joanna Bernabei-McNamee

Taylor Soule

Boston College Eagles

Postgame Press Conference

Florida State 63, Boston College 58

JOANNA BERNABEI-MCNAMEE: Yeah, that was definitely a heartbreaker for us. Credit goes to Florida State. They played really hard, struck to their guns with what they wanted to do offensively. We made some adjustments going into the fourth quarter. I thought my team played really hard, really gutsy, but like we always say, in tournament time it's hard to win when you're not making shots.

We just didn't have our shots falling even from the free-throw line. We're a much better free-throw shooting team than that. We're a little hurt, we're disappointed, but one thing I know for sure is I think they solidified a spot in the NCAA Tournament, and that's really what we wanted to make sure we came here and did.

Q. Coach, I want to ask you about Taylor. There was points in that game where she was yelling at her team to wake up and she really brought the energy. Do you think she was a big reason why you guys got going in that fourth?

JOANNA BERNABEI-MCNAMEE: Yeah, absolutely. Taylor Soule has provided us all year long with the leadership that a four-year veteran should provide, but what she does better than anybody in the country is plays with all of her heart and soul on both ends of the floor and really lays everything she has on the line, and she did that. This game is exactly what she's done in every game that we've played this year. I'm super proud of her. I know a lot of the tears in the locker room aren't for themselves, they're for her and for the seniors that really wanted this win.

Q. Morgan Jones obviously for Florida State is one of their standout players. You held her a little bit more than their last match-ups. What was the game plan limiting her on offense tonight?

JOANNA BERNABEI-MCNAMEE: Yeah, the game plan with her, when we played last time we kind of said, hey, back off of her quite a bit when she's on the three-point line, and she made us pay for that. This time we wanted to play her more honest in our regular D, and when she's on strong side, just try and deny her and limit her touches. Taylor Soule had that assignment all game, and she did a great job with it.

Q. Coach, both for you and Taylor, coming down the fourth quarter there and you go on a 12-1 run. What prompted the team to gel at that point and how did that all come together? And then defensively with the press, how did that just really start to succeed and help kind of feed into that run?

JOANNA BERNABEI-MCNAMEE: All right, I think as a coach you know you have a special team when there's definitely some exhaustion that's playing a part out there, but when you ask them to turn it up and get in that full-court press, they believe in themselves and they really turn up the heat, starting with T. Soule. I thought Dontavia was a huge spark off the bench, coming in and heating them up and turning them over.

You know, that can only last for so long because they were playing as hard as they possibly could. But that spark definitely started on the defensive end and created some easy offense, some lay-ups, and some easier offense for us.

TAYLOR SOULE: Yeah, I think I just credit our defense. And in games where you're not shooting the ball very well, you have to rely on what you can control, and defense is something we definitely pride ourselves in. Even when shots weren't falling and it felt like the game wasn't going our way, I think we stuck to what we know, and we got some stops.

I know I could feel it and everyone else could definitely feel it, just the momentum swinging our way. It didn't fall our way in the end, but I'm definitely proud of my team for that, that character that we showed, that no matter what's happening that we're not going to stop fighting, and it just didn't go our way today.

Q. I know you guys were pressing a lot. I heard the call FSU so I assume that was a special press S1. Evaluate how you did in that press and how it affected you guys.

TAYLOR SOULE: Yeah, I think FSU, secret little name, but just the point it's to go crazy. Don't think too hard. I think a lot of defense is scout, thinking a lot, different positions, but it's really just mess up the other team and get them out of their rhythm offensively, and I think we were able to do that a little bit today. That obviously again translates to us being able to get fast break points.

We had 12 of them today, so I think that just goes, again, to our defense. But FSU is something I like just because it's fast-paced, it's kind of all over the place, you don't really know what you're doing, you're kind of just trying to get stops and steals. But yeah.

Q. I want to ask more about Dontavia. Obviously she had a huge impact today. She had increased minutes against FSU the last time you guys played. What kind of advantage does she give you defensively against a team like FSU?

JOANNA BERNABEI-MCNAMEE: Yeah, 'Tae is just ultra athletic and she takes a lot of pride in playing defense, and whenever you have a player that takes pride in getting it done on the defensive end, and she's also a really good rebounder. So having her presence -- because our shots just weren't falling, it was nice to have a defensive spark. A lot of times you go, hey, we need an offensive spark coming off the bench. Well, a lot of times you need to turn to your defensive spark, and that's what Dontavia provides us.

Q. What does it mean for you guys after a tough last year with all the COVID stuff for you guys possibly going to the NCAA Tournament, is that one of those exciting things for you guys knowing that you got back from a tough year?

JOANNA BERNABEI-MCNAMEE: Yeah, I think credit goes to these players, sticking it through, any college athlete right now that has gone through COVID and gone through the trials and tribulations it provided. We're all so proud of them because that was a big deal mentally and physically for them.

For us, we discard last year, we kind of chalk it up to our COVID year and don't think much about it, but kind of picked up right where we left off from the 2019-2020 season.

I do believe this is a tournament team, and I hope that the NCAA's selection committee feels the same way.

Q. Taylor, late in the game when Cameron was struggling a little bit, you went over and had some words of encouragement for her. What did you say to her, and do you think doing things like that is part of your role as the team leader?

TAYLOR SOULE: Yeah, I just told her to keep shooting and that I love her. And I think in moments when your shot isn't falling and you feel like there's a million voices in your head, sometimes just a comforting reminder that somebody has your back can go a long way with your confidence.

She's someone who I tell all the time that I need her back and I hope she feels the same about me, and it shows, and it has shown offensively multiple times this year.

Unlucky for us it didn't show much today. But just in that moment in general as a leader -- I know obviously teams are really different, but for my team specifically, I know sometimes just a nice little reminder of support and confidence can help them out a lot.

Q. Cam only had 10 shots; did they do something to take that away or did it not work out in the flow to get her more shots?

JOANNA BERNABEI-MCNAMEE: They were definitely not letting her breathe out there. They stuck to her in the game. Credit to them on playing a really good scout against us, so they kind of stuck with her even when she was on weak side and didn't let her kind of get into her flow. So yeah, we did sort of -- our offense, to be honest, even when Cam is -- even on the games when she drops a lot of points, it's not like it just gears toward her. It's just she gets open in what we run. So today she didn't get as open as often, but I thought, that's the way sometimes it rolls.

I thought that the shots we took for the most part were good shots, they just didn't go in.