Boston College 76, Syracuse 73
FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: Rebounding. Unfortunately, we didn't go after those loose balls. We wasn't willing to die trying to get a rebound, and that cost us.
Questions?
Q. For either of you guys, when you think back on this season now, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Obviously it's going to take some time to contextualize everything, but what's your main takeaway from this season so far?
FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: You know, we really had moments where it was a great team, and we had camaraderie and we had zest, we had fun, we had a lot of things happen with us and for us, but sometimes we got out on the court and we just felt like we didn't deserve it.
You can see when the fight came back in the third quarter, and then around the eight-minute mark I looked in their eyes and I saw panic again. Like, we're up 15; what are we doing? I kept trying to laugh.
But at the end of the day, I just want our young people that's graduating to know that as uncomfortable as it may sound or seem or feel, you deserve it just like the next person, and that's where we had a great game plan. We adjusted. We came up with some different things that we certainly tried for the first time, and it worked. There was no kind of, let's go, we got this, let's have some excitement. It was just an interesting year.
I've got to look back and first check me and figure me out, and then the young people that we have left, what they're going to do, and then we have to bring in some more people to be around this young lady here, who I think could be the face of this program who's left it all out all year long.
She kept the main thing the main thing, and she fought every single possession and every single day. I'm proud of all of them, but I'm really proud of this young lady right here.
Q. Sophie, you really spearheaded that offense in the second half. Halfway your offense kind of stalled out. What was the key for you to make sure that your team still had a spark down the stretch?
SOPHIE BURROWS: I think just staying calm. As Coach said, we were panicking a little bit, trying to get the ball in there whether it had a lot of defensive pressure like full court. So I think just staying calm and reading the defense and seeing what they were giving me, and then reading off that and just trying to bring the energy for my team in any way possible.
Q. Coach, in the second half what specifically was going wrong on offense that led to BC coming back?
FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: Sheer panic. I mean, we had Sophie taking the ball out and one of our players was right in front of her. Just ask for the ball and you've got the ball. You're wide open. We never even looked -- because the play didn't say for her to get it.
It's that IQ thing that we have to get better with. Sophie had to say, turn around, you're right in front of me.
I just thought that we panicked and we couldn't use Iza. Iza had a head situation and took herself out, because she was doing great in the first half, and then she got hit in the head or something.
We put our other cats, our rookies in there, and the stage got a little big for them and they were really feeling that duress. They'll be better next year.
I thought we got a little tired, too. It's unfortunate, so unfortunate.
Q. Sophie, obviously this was a big year for your personal growth. Going from last year, you started a couple games. This year started basically every game. What was the jump from year one to year two like, and how much more comfortable do you feel at the end of the season compared to last year?
SOPHIE BURROWS: Yeah, definitely. I think coming in as an international freshman, it was a big jump. Definitely a different style of play and everything, so it took me a little bit to get comfortable.
But I think this year I had that time under my belt, so I really just needed to come in with confidence and play with confidence for my team, and that was instilled in me through my coaches and my teammates.
I think that really helped me just get out on the floor and just play basketball.
Q. For all the younger players, the players that will be returning to the team over the next few years, what are some of the lessons you want them to take away from a game like this where you had such a big lead and then so much changed in the second half?
FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: It's just a process. If you're going to be here, you don't know who's -- this NIL stuff, you don't know who's going to be here. I hope they all come back. I think that they're special kids.
But at the end of the day, if they're back, I just hope that they can trust the process and have conversations with me on days when they don't feel my presence. I live five minutes away or less. Come to my house, text me, can we get together, can we talk, can we get an understanding of where are you at today, Coach.
That's where I saw Dyaisha Fair out there, and she always made me get uncomfortable, and she always wanted to have a conversation. She'd come over and didn't have anything to say, but she just wanted to be there, and we figured it out as we grew.
I hope that the people that return get to that point with me where we can get in my presence and we can be uncomfortable in front of each other and hopefully we can figure it all out together.
Q. Lots of seniors had their last hurrahs today in an orange uniform, but one in particular, Georgia Woolley, has been with you from the beginning. What's it meant to have a player like Georgia and to coach her for so many years?
FELISHA LEGETTE-JACK: I think Georgia's upside, her later days are going to be her better days. There's so much room for her to learn and grow, and watching her get to this point of a young 17 year old coming into the United States all alone and finding her way the way she did, catapulting to Rookie of the Year at Buffalo, but having some issues, as well, and fighting through those issues and becoming the player that she is right now.
She struggled today a lot, but I just think that her latter days will be her better days, and we'll help her through the process. We always stay with our kids. I say to our players all the time, I'm a jerk for four or five years, but when you graduate is when I work. That's when I work. Every single one of my players that need me or don't need me, I still watch them and make certain they're going to be okay until the age of 25. That's when the brain fully develops, and that's what I am hoping I can be for Georgia, just a person that watches her ans sees how she grows, and if she needs me, I just jump back in her life.
Q. Kind of building off of that, Sophie, probably your last game with Georgia, as well. What have you taken away from your time playing with her?
SOPHIE BURROWS: I think Georgia is probably the most competitive person I've ever met. She'll fight you playing Monopoly. But I think it's just seeing her fight day in and day out, through injury, through whatever she's going through, to be there and show up for our team, it's something that you don't get from a lot of players.
It's really inspiring to watch her fight for her team like that, and I think she's had an amazing career, but like Coach Jack said, I think she's on to bigger and better things, and I'm really excited to see where her career takes her.
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