Post-Game Quotes: Detroit Mercy

MSU head coach Suzy Merchant

On how satisfying it is to see the team depth…
I really loved it and Shay (Colley) didn't even play. I think those are feel good wins. Certainly, we are happy to have everybody feel a part of it by scoring, but I think the bigger thing was that we had 28 assists on 41 baskets and that to me is not just making shots. I like how we made the extra pass; we turned down maybe a good shot for a great one and they were starting to understand that a little bit. We didn't show a lot tonight, we didn't plan on showing a lot; some other teams you have coming up, so the less we could do, the better. I thought our kids did a good job of making reads and some of the simple things we just did.

On causing 30 turnovers on defense…
We felt like our pressure over time would probably wear them down a little bit and cause them some difficulty. I think what they did a good job of was really just driving it right at us a little bit, trying to create contact and we didn't have as good of a position that we needed to. I thought our kids did a good job of getting in passing lanes, making them play a little bit faster than what they are used to and our ball screen defense was solid. I'll have to look at it on film - I thought there were times when it was better than other times, we changed it during the game and there was some confusion a little bit there. But overall, I thought our kids just really played hard and played hard together.

On how the freshmen played tonight…
I thought it was a great game for them. I think early on you want them to get as many reps as they can, I think just to get comfortable out there. You look at that group and really top to bottom they have a high IQ of the game. The post has power, but they're mobile and they have finesse. Cyd (Cydni Dodd) is probably more of our true back to the basket a little different postman, but you know Taiyier (Parks) and certainly seeing her mobility at that spot. Then you add Julia (Ayrault) in there who can play a four and a three. Mo (Moira Joiner) can be a one, two or three if you have to have her and then Alyza (Winston) I think her speed you just see. So, those five kids are going to play, and it's been fun to watch them develop. I think it takes time to kind of build it all together, but the improvements that we've seen every single day has been just so fun. They are a fun group and they love to play. They have fun when they play, they are coachable. It's just neat to have that kind of energy and enthusiasm and then to see it go out there on the court and make a difference; it's fun.

Players Mentioned

Cydni Dodd

Moira Joiner

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