ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 8, 2024

Felisha Legette-Jack

Dyaisha Fair

Saniaa Wilson

Syracuse Orange

Postgame Press Conference

Florida State 78, Syracuse 65

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: We've got to figure out how to play on this stage. Everyone says this, we're way better than this. I want to add to that, that list of people who say the same thing.

If we could have started the game in the fourth quarter -- I think last year our whole problem was the fourth quarter, and now that seemed like the quarter that we have the most success in.

Kudos to Florida State. I thought they kind of made us play bad. That's the sign of a great team, and I wish them the best of luck moving forward.

Q. Felisha, did you think there was energy on your part, execution? What was lacking?

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: Both.

Q. Do you think the break impacted --

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: I don't know. You know what, some people like myself need rest, and when I get rest I'm going to become an impact.

These two, they played with gumption, if you will. I'm not going to give us an excuse. We just pissed down our leg, and we can't have that happen anymore. We don't have no more time because now the next game we don't have success in, we go home.

That's what can make me emotional, because I love this team. I love these players. I just think that we have to all believe that we too are enough, and I think that when we got out there and the interesting calls at the beginning created a stoppage in our -- us going forward.

I felt like we just couldn't get back into who we were trying to be out there.

It is what it is, and we're going to have to reflect and get back to who I think we can become.

Q. Coach, this is really only the second time this season that your team has been on the end of a lopsided loss. Going back to that North Carolina game, what were some of the emotions that your team had from that one-sided loss that we took it, used it the rest of ACC play to where you got to this point?

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: That's an interesting question. You want me to remember how I felt since the North Carolina game?

Q. The emotions that your team had from the only other one-sided loss that you had this season, what were those emotions that you can harness as you go into another leg of your season?

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: We didn't play well. We didn't come out with energy. We didn't play like we're the best team in the conference. It had nothing to do with North Carolina and our feelings toward that game. We had some success throughout -- we had some failures in between that. I don't know how you add those two together and make it make sense.

I really don't know how to answer your question honestly other than to say that this is a disappointment, and we want to get better.

Q. Obviously this was a very tough loss. With an NCAA Tournament game coming pretty soon, how do you guys as a team bounce back, and what are some of the ways you can recollect you guys as a team emotionally?

DYAISHA FAIR: I think we start by telling each other the truth and getting back to who we are, and that's playing Syracuse basketball. I feel like in the middle of the game, more so in the second quarter, beginning of the third, that wasn't who we were, and that's all it's going to take for us to be who we are, and that's tell each other the truth and regroup and reset.

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: Just to be clear, we earned this opportunity, guys. No one gave us anything. It's not, okay, you're in the NCAA now and how are you going to retract what you've done today. This was a 40-minute game. We have a 23 plus six game resume that says that we are one of the 64 teams and we're going with our head up and we're going with the gumption that we're going out there to win six games.

This is going to be energetic and you're not going to catch us in our emotional moment have us pit things against each other. Not that you're trying to do that, but I want my players to understand we did nothing wrong other than didn't play for three quarters.

That doesn't mean that we weren't great for 23 wins. We really beat some people, and that's really great in this conference. This is a gauntlet of a conference. Don't think Florida State isn't a great team. They're amazing. They made us poorly and we helped by not coming ready unfortunately in the first three quarters.

But please understand the excitement in Syracuse women's basketball is just that: Excitement. The energy wasn't there for three quarters. It bit us in the tail. Our goal is to get that energy back, and we bring it whoever is our opponent come postseason.

Q. Coach, Ta'Niya Latson obviously in foul trouble early in the first half but came alive during that second half. What did you see from her and what she had going in that second half?

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: Special player. Special player. She knew how to manage her fouls and they took her out, and we didn't take advantage of it while she was on the bench. But the other kids stepped up, too, and she came back out there and really showed why she's first-team all-conference, and kudos to her.

Q. Obviously you guys are up here because you did have more energy, but do you have a sense of why it was lacking, if you had to guess why things were a little flat tonight?

SANIAA WILSON: I just think collectively we just didn't come to play. I think it took some of us, but we need every piece of our team in order to gain success.

Q. Coach Jack, Coach Wyckoff was in here earlier and she talked about the game plan they had stopping Dyaisha from attempting a lot of three pointers. How did you adjust to Dyaisha being held to only five points, and what do you think lacked from inside the arc tonight in your offense?

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: Five points?

Q. Five three-point attempts, sorry.

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: It's a team game. You know, if you stop one player on our team, it shouldn't stop our team. That's what's the unfortunate part, is that we let our opponent coaches believe that if you stop one of our players, then you stop Syracuse. That's what we're going to go work on.

Q. Coach, I feel like a couple of the losses this year have been in large part due to rebounding. I know rebounding was a bit of a concern tonight. What did you think your team could have done better to out-rebound Florida State?

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: We had 52 rebounds to 30 versus NC State and lost. It's a collective thing. It's a bunch of things that went wrong in the game. We didn't rebound, nor did the ball bounce our way a couple times and shots didn't go our way. Normal shots that we usually make didn't go in.

It's a bunch of things that went wrong, and one of them is rebounding. Being out-rebounded 50-34 isn't who we are, and we're going to get better with that, but we certainly had 52 rebounds the last game and came out on the short end and was only able to take seven free throws. How do you take 52 rebounds and only get to the free-throw line seven times? I guess we've got to be more aggressive, and we will.

Q. Felisha, obviously Izabel wasn't able to make the trip and the NCAA Tournament is a long way off. Do you expect her to be full go when that time comes?

FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: My expectation is yes.