Quotes - MSU vs. No. 5 Maryland
2/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Michigan State Head Coach Suzy Merchant
On the missed shots and missed opportunities that occurred throughout the course of the game...
Yes, we did. I can think of a couple. One was when Anna [Morrissey] had a wide open three that would have been big. Becca [Mills] had quite a few that she would have liked to have back. Those are our two seniors; that's who you need to step up. Anna may be less so because she's a walk-on, but those are the shots against a team like that that those seniors need to make. Those kids just need to make shots if they're that wide open. It's not like they were getting challenged a whole lot on those shots.
On the effect of fatigue and lack of depth on her team...
I thought defensively, there were some people who just weren't doing their jobs. Having them not doing their jobs at that point was better than sticking someone else out there at that point. It was kind of those situations when fatigue factored into a turnover here and the lack of a box out there. It's not an excuse because we need to be tougher, but it's not like they just started. They've been rolling at this since November. Some of these kids play almost 35, 40 minutes every night.
On how the preparation has changed since losing players to injury...
I think we've been pretty fresh lately though. We've been doing a good job of trying to give them time off as much as I can. We've just been trying to be fresh. We've had a lot of one-day preps, which to me is the hardest thing to swallow. It's a lot more walk-through's and film then what I would like to do. I think it helps us be fresher on game nights and they've been able to translate for the most part what we need them to do. There are just a handful of times where we just kind of lose our minds or have empty possessions that turn into tough situations for us.
On whether the missed opportunities cost them the game...
I thought we had some opportunities that we just left empty. It's not the reason we lost the game, but it's one of a lot of reasons why we lost the game. The list of reasons starts at the free throw line. I mean at the end of the day, we really fought and battled and you can only get them open looks and opportunities. We just needed to knock those down.
Maryland Head Coach Brenda Frese
Opening statement...
Not one of our better performances, so I'm proud of the fact that we found a way to hang in there. The credit goes to Michigan State. They were the more aggressive team; they played hard. They got on the floor more, they were scrappy. We had no answer for [Aerial] Powers; she is just a phenomenal player. We're fortunate to be able to get out of here with a win, but I thought we kept our poise through a lot of different moments.
On responding to technical fouls late in the game...
Despite all of the adversity, we just kept our poise and our composure. That is what I love about our team. When things get tough, we lock in even more and really understand that we have to be able to get stops and value possessions on the offensive end.
On coaching in the Big Ten again...
It's been even better. I was only here for one season, but the crowds have been phenomenal. We've really enjoyed going on the road. The competition every night is a battle. There's no easy game and every team is going to give you their best 40 minutes.
On her game plan against playing Michigan State...
They play extremely hard. You can be short handed in numbers, but it doesn't really matter when you have a huge heart. Like I told Suzy [Merchant], her team plays hard. They play everyone close. They battle for 40 minutes. When you have players like [Aerial] Powers and [Tori] Jankoska, you're going to be in every game when you play that aggressively. We knew it was going to be a very difficult game.
On how Michigan State improved from their first matchup...
They're tough. They're scrappy. They rebound extremely hard. They battle. I think this group has really done a nice job of sharing the basketball.