Boston College women's basketball was gunning for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005-06. But the Eagles ended up on the wrong side of the bubble after a second-round ACC Tournament exit.

Then they collapsed in the WNIT Sweet Sixteen, blowing a 17-point, second-half lead to Columbia.

Now, a significant portion of the team's backbone—five seniors—is turning to the transfer portal. During the WNIT, sharpshooter Makayla Dickens entered her name into the portal.

Tuesday night, point guard Marnelle Garraud and reserve center Clara Ford did the same. Junior guard Jaelyn Batts, who started 19 games in three years with the Eagles, is also in the portal.

Garraud was BC's floor general. She averaged 7.6 points and 3.7 assists per game this past season. The Lynn, Massachusetts, native started all but 12 of her 114 games at BC, averaging 28.4 minutes per game.

Garraud's best season came as a sophomore when she averaged a career-high 9.8 points, shot 38.1% from downtown and north of 40% from the field. That season, she finished fourth in the ACC in steals per game (1.9) and second in total steals (62).

The following year, she was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team. She led BC in steals (39) and even blocked shots (seven) during the COVID-19-shortened campaign.

Ford made her biggest impact that year, too. In fact, the 6-foot-3 center started 17 of the Eagles' 19 games and averaged 5.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. She finished in double figures the first three contests of the year, posting a 15-and-16 double-double against UMass. She later recorded a season-high 19 points against Syracuse.

But, with the arrival of Maria Gakdeng, Ford took a backseat this past season. While Gakdeng made the All-ACC Freshman Team, setting the single-season program record for blocks, Ford contributed as a reserve five, averaging a mere 6.1 minutes and 2.2 points per game.

Then there's Batts, who had a bigger role than Ford in 2021-22. Well, at least initially. The off-ball guard averaged 17.3 minutes per game the first 15 games of the season, 11 of which she started.

But Batts' minutes started to dwindle as fellow guard Kaylah Ivey began to step up. Batts' final game came at Syracuse on Feb. 27. She finished the year, her junior campaign, having shot just 39% from the floor and averaged a meager 2.5 points per game.

Batts averaged a career-high 20 minutes and 4.8 points per game in 2020-21.

With Garraud, Ford and Batts in the portal, the Eagles now have four departing players this offseason.