The first four years of Joanna Bernabei-McNamee's reign at Boston College consistently offered proof of a winning women's basketball program. Two teams arguably belonged in the NCAA Tournament, and last season saw the Eagles advance to within a last second shot opportunity of the WNIT's quarterfinal round. The two years that didn't measure up to postseason standards either laid her first-season foundation or was heavily impacted by COVID-19, but the situational numbers across her teams' performances should have massaged any fear caused by even the worst game during those seasons.
None of that proof, though, made it difficult for doubters to reappear after BC underwent an offseason roster overhaul, and nearly every analyst's preseason prediction discussed the Eagles from a pure rebuilding focus.