AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 8, 2025

Jennifer Sullivan

Mya Perry

Dickies Arena

Florida Atlantic Owls

Postgame Press Conference

Charlotte - 55, Florida Atlantic - 51

THE MODERATOR: Coach, just start with your thoughts on the game, please.

JENNIFER SULLIVAN: Just kind of feeling that numb, walking through a daze feeling. I'm devastated for our team. I really thought we had a good chance to win this game, so just kind of processing that emotion right now.

Just really proud of this group. That was a long, hard season. I think a season like this, it's very easy to go your separate ways and divide as a team, and they never did. They stayed together. They stayed showing up in practice and being coachable, and I want to thank them for that, and I appreciate them and our staff for helping make that happen.

As far as the game goes, I mean, I thought we got off to a really great start in the first half, defensively 15 points in the first half, then in the second half, they had a great third quarter, and we got those lulls where we were struggling to find ways to score. So disappointing way to go out. We would have liked to have seen a little more offense production to give us a better shot, but this is where we are.

Q. Was that really the difference? You're up 9-4 after the first quarter, you hold them to 4, but only five points ahead. Is that really the difference on that, the inability to kind of set up -- get a better number up there offensively?

JENNIFER SULLIVAN: Yeah. Yeah, as we were getting stops and making a run, kind of like looking at the score and time and just really wanting to pull away a little bit more, getting those types of stops, capitalizing on those moments, because they're a team that's going to make a run, and so we wanted to get a great of a cushion as we can to avoid that.

I give credit to them. I thought one of the biggest keys for us in this game was out-rebounding them and give ourselves more possessions, and that separation happened a little bit later in the third quarter, and they ended up -- I think they got us by four, but our goal was to try to out-rebound them by one, so...

Q. Obviously you started the season pretty well, nine wins through the beginning of January, and then it kind of took a turn. Was it just the season-ending injuries, the loss of Erin, anything beyond that that you can point to that maybe just sent things the other way?

JENNIFER SULLIVAN: Yeah, I think that was a big part of it. I thought we got off to a strong start. Obviously Erin went down, she was our leading scorer at the time, and I think doing really good things. It was not in conference play, so I don't know how that would have transitioned over, but I liked what she brought to our team. But then we had a couple other players that were out for the first half of the season, so it's kind of just been a make-shift situation throughout the year. We've had to put a lot on players like Mya, Stefanie, and Jada throughout the year and proud of them for carrying that, but we've not had a lot of depth at the guard position, we had to take some players that were more forward positions and move them over to the guard spot. So just kind of a figure-it-out-type season, and trying to make shift as we go, and we found some bright spots where we were able to make it work and, like I said, just really proud of them for adjusting on the fly and figuring things out.

Q. I need to ask you about the young lady next to you. Mya getting to an all-conference level of performance this season, what did you see out of her in terms of her growth and development?

JENNIFER SULLIVAN: I mean, in the midst of all the chaos Mya's been so consistent. And it's funny, as we're doing the doing the voting for the all-conference we have just the first team and the second and there's tons of talent on than list. It's an awful tough pick. So it made it even more exciting and proud for me and our team that she made that team. She deserved to be on that team. She's put in the work throughout the season. She's been consistent. The 31-point performance she had against Memphis she only hit two threes, so she's not just a shooter and I think that's kind of been a little bit her label, but I think it's unfair. I think she's a scoring guard, that her defense got better, she's long, she's big, she's smart, she's a great teammate, she definitely deserved to be on the all-conference team.

Q. Mya, what do you think about that recommendation, and even just hearing coach's comments on your performance this year?

MYA PERRY: I think it's great to have somebody have so much faith in you, and also having my team have faith in me. Just went out there, played basketball, and I had a great group of people to cheer me on along the way, and just I did what I could do.

Q. When you get that recognition in a game like this, how much does that put pressure on you to feel like you have to be the one to deliver the points on maybe a day where they're tough to come by?

MYA PERRY: No, I never feel like there's really pressure on me. I have faith in my teammates and in myself to just go out there stress-free. We plan weeks ahead for these games and we're ready when we come out.

Q. Last one, as you look ahead maybe now to off-season and next year, what are some things that you need to do to get that post-season win and advance higher in the conference standings?

JENNIFER SULLIVAN: Well, we graduate Maria Myklebust and Jada Moore. Those would be will be two players that obviously will be hard to replace, especially because of their leadership. I think in terms of the off-season, our returning players, just development, keep getting better. Mya's a good example of that, where she started, and where she is now, continuing to get better. And then just from a recruiting standpoint just find more production offensively to help us get over this hump.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you.