Post-Game Quotes: Detroit
12/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Michigan State Head Coach Suzy Merchant
On where the team stands before conference play…
I think every time we play we've gotten better at something. We've improved some areas of the game that we needed to. I think we can score the ball, where we've had situations in years past that that has been an issue. I felt as though we scored a lot of points, but we also left a lot of points on the board too. Our ability to respond has been somebody else every night, which is another thing. It hasn't just been one or two people performing night in and night out. We've had great performances individually. Jenna [Allen] has come in and given us some really good minutes or Morgan [Green] has done well, whereas in the past it was Tori [Jankoska] and Aerial [Powers]. Branndais [Agee] has been great in non-conference and has really improved her game. If you look at it, we have some weapons, and we don't have to rely on two kids every night.
On Tori's near triple-double…
I was hoping she would. I thought she had a chance to get it but it shows a really great performance. She is extremely efficient and did not take a ton of shots to get there. She did a good job of setting people up, but also a good job of taking care of the ball. She's also had to play some point in the past couple games because Morgan [Green] has been getting into foul trouble early. That's something she has to do a better job at. To be as efficient as she was tonight, no matter who we are playing, was a positive thing. It was good to play that way because she started out hot and then she had a little bit of a lull and then picked herself back up.
On this team's passing skills…
We have not had a team like this. With 26 assists on 31 baskets is pretty impressive. I don't think I've had a team that can be as unselfish as them sometimes. Sometimes there is a little tunnel vision, but the biggest difference with that is with Morgan being out there distributing the ball and setting people up has allowed people to get some easier looks. That makes our field goal percentage higher and our assists are up because of that. I think Tori did a good job of that tonight. We have post players that can move the ball really well. The pass that Jenna had; she is just so easy with the ball. Kennedy [Johnson] can pass it, Hana [Vesela], obviously is a face-up player. It is kind of nice to have that, and it's helped us as well.
On Jenna Allen…
Jenna is a good player. She is calm and poised and really has a high IQ for the game. I think once she learned the pace that we need her to play at, she's been able to pick up a lot. It only took her a couple weeks in the games that she was able to do that. The thing that helps her transfer is that she doesn't really think about the ball before she gets it. We have kids that fumble and fumble the ball, and they try to play too fast, but Jenna [Allen] just processes what she sees. She looks through her progressions just like a quarterback does. You check the safety, you check the second zone, you have to be able to process all of that stuff. I think that that's one thing that she brings to the table as a freshman. Her ability to process and go through her progressions at a pace where she can make good decisions, that's not an easy thing to teach. I think that is something innate. We try to teach it to everyone through repetition, but she already has a feel for the game that way.
On missing Branndais Agee last season…
Her athleticism and length is just ridiculous. She is just getting in better and better shape, and she's more confident and she wants to be good. She really has a repertoire that is an arsenal. We can post her, she can pull-up, she can hit a three, she can get to the rim and she's a good defender. You don't realize what an injury does. We had a lot of that last year and it is hard to make up for over time. She can make plays that no one else on our team really can. I think when people watch our team people are most surprised by what she can do on the basketball court.
