ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 1, 2023

Joanna Bernabei-McNamee

Maria Gakdeng

Boston College Eagles

Postgame Press Conference

Boston College 62, Georgia Tech 57

JOANNA BERNABEI-McNAMEE: It's good to get a win in the ACC Tournament with a young team. I was really proud of how we rebounded, and Maria played unbelievable, and I love the way Dontavia came out and played as if she -- it was like she was back, like she never left.

I also thought that our point guard being a freshman in this big environment really stepped up to the plate, as well.

Q. They've cut it down to three, under 30 seconds, you had the big play with the pass for the lay-up. Describe that play and what that did for the team at the time.

MARIA GAKDENG: I feel like we were calling that a lot in practice, just being open and making sure we're sealing off when my man helps over. So I think that was something we always work on so it just came naturally.

JOANNA BERNABEI-McNAMEE: Yeah, I thought a lot of times in this game, I thought we saw that one more extra pass, and that always makes any coach proud when their team is willing passers and being able to see that next pass.

Q. You mentioned Dontavia earlier, her first time back after a while. What did she give you today that y'all might have been missing in previous games without her?

JOANNA BERNABEI-McNAMEE: I think she really gives us that defensive spark and that extra person that's going to hit the boards really hard. She has that grittiness to her, that really competitive drive that if there's a loose ball or if there's a rebound that kind of looks like a staggering rebound that maybe no one can get to, she's a player that can get to that.

Then you saw what she can do with her steals and things like that. She's definitely -- for me, like if she would have been healthy all year, I think she would have been up for a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.

Q. Your defense today was excellent and required a lot of moving and communication from your team. How do you think they executed the plan?

JOANNA BERNABEI-McNAMEE: I was really proud of them. We switched up some defenses and all that takes a lot of communication. And even Maria is a big part of that because as the center of the defense, you have to be able to talk and call things out, and I could hear them talking.

We keep a little chart. It's kind of like a lack of hustle chart, but it's really when people don't communicate, when people don't block out. And we had our lowest number of the year today on that chart and I was really proud of them for that. When we communicate and play together, I think we can almost out-hustle the fact that we maybe didn't shoot the ball great from the perimeter, but we made up for it in what we did defensively. Except for that fourth quarter was a little bit rough, but...

Q. Curious, when did you first learn that Dontavia was good to go today, and how big was it to have her from a leadership standpoint as somebody who has played in this tournament and has some more experience?

JOANNA BERNABEI-McNAMEE: It was our goal to try to get her back for this tournament, but we weren't really sure. Yesterday was actually her first day of full practice. The day before yesterday she did some non-contact things, and yesterday was her first day of actual contact practice. Knowing that, I think, even makes that performance a little bit more impressive.

Q. Where the team was able to rely on some experience coming into this tournament but was still a young roster, how much of that messaging came from the older players who had been to Greensboro before, and how did you see the younger players rise to their maturity and meet the moment?

JOANNA BERNABEI-McNAMEE: That's probably a good question for Maria because when you look at our team, she really is the one player that has the most experience and really is the veteran out there as just a sophomore. Go ahead.

MARIA GAKDENG: I think the older players brought a lot of experience, a lot of what to expect when coming to Greensboro for the tournament, and I feel like the freshmen, they bring a lot of energy, they bring so much good energy, and I feel like that's what gets us going. And then obviously we have T-Mair at the point guard. She's done amazing this season. I'm just really proud of the freshman and what they bring to the table even though they don't have as much experience.

Q. Coach, what do you think of the way you guys closed the game?

JOANNA BERNABEI-McNAMEE: At the very, very close, I was really proud of the way we hit free throws and stepped up to the line. The fourth quarter I thought we showed a little bit of nerves and maybe we got a little bit tight at times. And credit to Georgia Tech, they really played like it was like the game was on the line. That's the way tournament time is. Every game it's do or die.

I was proud of the way we closed out, and I think having Maria constantly being available on the inside and having her being 100 percent from the floor is big for this kind of environment. Being able to rely on her, and then our free-throw shooters stepping up in Dontavia and Andrea at the end of the game was big.

Q. Obviously you guys have played Miami, but what are your first impressions of the matchup for tomorrow?

JOANNA BERNABEI-McNAMEE: It's going to be a great matchup. I think they play fast. I thought when we played them at our place, we played probably three pretty good quarters, so it's going to be really up to us to put a complete game together. I don't think we can play them well unless we play a complete 40 minutes.

So we're going to really focus on that. It's a quick turnaround, and hopefully we can turn the tables where you might think they have fresh legs, but we also have all the nerves and jitters out of our system getting one game in. Hopefully that's the mentality that we have going in and we play strong and hard and get after it. It's going to be definitely an up-and-down game, though.