Boston College women’s basketball has lost yet another player to the transfer portal. Taina Mair, the Eagles’ freshman point guard, entered her name into the portal on Friday, as reported by Mitchell Northam on Twitter. Mair retweeted the announcement from her personal account.
Mair’s decision follows Maria Gakdeng and Ally Carman’s entrance into the transfer portal within the past two weeks. Mair is the 16th player to transfer out of head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee’s program in the last five seasons.
The Dorchester, Mass. native was a breakout star for the Eagles in her first year on the Heights. She was a do-it-all player, averaging 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game en route to earning ACC All-Freshman Team honors.
Mair was the only player in the ACC this season to have a game with at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals. She was named the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week by the U.S Basketball Writers Association for her efforts in wins over NC State and Florida State on Jan. 6 and 9, respectively. She also earned ACC Freshman of the Week the same week.
With Kaylah Ivey sidelined the entire season, Mair was the only true point guard on the Eagles’ roster. She logged the most minutes of any BC player this year with 1,209 and rarely missed any action, starting all 33 games of the season.
Mair began her BC career with a bang. In the Eagles’ season-opening 81–53 victory over UMass Lowell, she posted nine points along with 13 assists and seven steals. The floor general’s 13 helpers set a single-game assist record for a freshman at BC.
Mair also played an instrumental role in BC’s thrilling road victory over then-No. 10 NC State, pouring in 15 points to go along with 10 assists, six rebounds, and two steals. The performance was one of Mair’s five double-doubles on the season.
After losing Mair and Gakdeng, BC will have to replace two of its most valuable players for next year. In Mair, Bernabei-McNamee’s program loses a player who was primed to be a cornerstone piece of the Eagles for years to come.
“I came to BC because they believed in me, you know, I wasn’t a top hundred kid—I wasn’t even a top two hundred kid in the country, but they knew that I could come in here and make a change,” Mair said about her decision to come to BC in an interview with The Heights about her freshman season on Feb. 21. “Having a great relationship with Coach Mac definitely influenced my decision.”
Although she admitted that she thinks she can succeed at any school, Mair said that she couldn’t imagine playing elsewhere.
“This just feels like home,” Mair said.
Another major rebuilding effort is in order for Bernabei-McNamee this offseason.
