Post-Game Quotes
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant
On whether it is to stomach a missed opportunity more than a loss...
Yes, that was well said. My seven-year-old reminded me as I was walking off the court, "layups and free-throws." It's not rocket-science; you can't shoot 5-16 in the second half. We did a good job getting there, that was part of what we were trying to do is attack them off the dribble. We thought our bigs, especially Jasmine Hines, would be able to battle a little power versus finesse. I thought that was working, but the problem was we we're coming up empty at the free-throw line. We really needed Becca [Mills] and Jasmine to attack them and finish inside. That was disappointing. I know they were disappointed in themselves.
On the play of Aerial Powers...
That kid is amazing. She's ultra-competitive to a fault sometimes. She can take it to another level and it's fun to watch a kid do that. Aerial can do so much athletically when she decides to. I was really proud of her. Last year she would get too hyped for games like this and struggle. The last time we played Notre Dame she was sitting next to me three minutes into the game with two fouls. To watch her growth and maturity over the years of being able to play in big games and keep herself in the game is special. She'll still do three or four things that will make you pull your hair out but the 27 other things she just did to keep you in the game is not a bad thing.
On the search for a consistent third scorer...
Yes, that has to be Becca and Jasmine that's our third and fourth. That's why it's disappointing, they're seniors and they're captains and it's a big game. They weren't really ready for whatever reason, so I'm not sure what was going on there. Becca had five fouls in 18 minutes and really struggled. I thought she struggled more than Jas [Hines] did because even though she wasn't making shots she was putting people on the bench. She did some pretty good things in there considering she's not in the best shape coming off her injury from the summer. I think those are the two who have to be more consistent. I look at Becca and I see a kid who should have 15 points, 10 rebounds consistently. She can hit a three, get offensive rebound put-backs and run in transition. It was disappointing that she couldn't get into a flow tonight.
On whether the fact they hung in with one of the top teams in the nation makes a statement for the team...
I'm proud of our kids because we've had a lot of injuries and some things that have happened to us. We started Anna Morrissey who we spent the last five minutes talking about in our locker room. To see a kid come in here, who I didn't even know who she was, walk onto the team and be a Spartan. Her dad was a Spartan great and her brother is on the football team now so it just means so much for her to wear that jersey. She's been solid and that's kind of what we need. We need Tori [Jankoska] and Aerial to stay in the zone they've been in and now that she's stepped up it's big for us. That is a big stage for that kid. She's a walk-on and we're starting her against the No. 2 team in the country, that's not a role she's ever been used to. I just told her I'm really proud of her and her development and to stay the course because I think she'll continue to contribute.
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw
Opening statement...
That was a war. They out-rebounded us, which was probably the most disappointing stat for me to see. We just didn't have the toughness. We ran into some foul trouble in the first half and ended up going pretty deep off the bench. I thought they did a great job on the boards, but credit them for such a relentless pursuit of the ball. Aerial Powers is such a tough match-up, and we struggled to figure out who was going to guard her. We brought Hannah Huffman off the bench and I thought she did a pretty good job for the minutes we needed her out there. [Tori] Jankoska is a great shooter. You can't leave her for a second. She did a nice job off the screens, and they really played well. It was a great crowd in a blizzard. I was actually hoping for a little more snow and fewer people, but it was great crowd and a great atmosphere for women's basketball.
On her message to Brianna Turner at halftime...
I think the great thing about Brianna was that she kind of went, "give me the ball." She didn't say it, but she got it. We tried to look in and see how it went, and she wanted it after that, so that was a good thing for us to learn to today. I don't know that we came into the game tonight thinking that was going to be our game plan, but she really made some huge shots for us. I was really proud how she played as a freshman in this atmosphere.
On shooting poorly tonight...
We shot it poorly. We credit their defense. They really did a nice job of packing in the lane when we drove the ball. I thought the rotation was really good. We really struggled to score in the first half. I was actually happy at halftime with the foul trouble we had and to only be down by one. I felt pretty good about where we were.
On finding ways to win on the road and if that makes a championship team...
I hope so because we're so young and have so much to learn. To have a win like this over such a quality team on the road early in the season. I knew we were going to find out a lot about ourselves, and I think we found out some things that will certainly help us in the next game. We know we have a lot of work to do, but I'm happy we were able to come out with a victory.
On Hannah Huffman's performance...
She gave us some great minutes. Hannah's job is to come in and guard the other team's best player and she was able to do that tonight, particularly in the first half with Jewell [Loyd] in foul trouble, and then we wanted to use her a little bit to rest Jewell in the second half. I was just so pleased that she was so ready and so focused to come up with three steals and make a lot of big plays defensively.
On Aerial Powers...
We haven't seen a lot of Big Ten teams yet, but she has got to be a Player of the Year candidate. She is so hard to guard. She's tough to box out. She had 11 rebounds. She can score in so many different ways. She runs the floor. You really have got to know where she is all the time. I think she is a phenomenal player.
On Lindsay Allen...
She had a tough game today. I think she struggled setting the tone and pace for us. I felt we walked it up too much in the first half. In the second half, I think she got more into her game with a little bit more pushing the ball and tempo, because we really wanted to run. We thought we had an advantage in speed, and we didn't use it all in the first half. I'm happy with Lindsay and where she is. I was trying to get her to score more in the first game. She took two shots. I really wanted her to score more. She might've been left open quite a bit today, and she hasn't really shot the ball enough to be comfortable with it yet. She drove the ball well at the end of the half. That's what we wanted her to do. We just didn't get to the line enough, but I thought we did a much better job in the second half.
On Michigan State's personality...
I saw a really competitive bunch. I thought they battled the whole game defensively and offensively. I thought they knew what to do. Their game plan was good on both ends of the floor. I think they knew who was going to shoot the ball and who was supposed to shoot the ball. I thought they were relentless on the boards and had a really good game plan.
