Post-Game Quotes: Mercyhurst

Michigan State Head Coach Robyn Fralick

Opening Statement...
You know I think from two weeks ago, in our exhibition game, I really challenged our group about the focus required over 40 minutes, the discipline of playing the game the right way. I thought we took some steps forward in that. I mean obviously we know there's going to be more challenges ahead. I think in practice there's been a really good competitive spirit, even probably more so in earlier than years past, where we really were challenging them to get to that level, and I just saw some steps in that tonight, especially the ability to stay focused over a 40 minute game.

On the topic of making school history with 125 points…
Well, you know when you have 33 assists, when you have a willing unselfish team, you get better shots. And when you get better shots you tend to score more points. So I was just proud of them, I just thought throughout the whole game we just shared the ball. We kept finding ways, and skipping it, and making the extra pass, trusting each other, and when that happens, there's a confidence, there's an energy in that, you make more shots, there's a belief in each other. So, I just liked the way we shared the ball. I know we're going to have continued challenges ahead, but if we can be a willing, passing team that trusts each other, that's going to be a good thing for us.

On using the same starting lineup…
We're always evaluating that. That's something we're always paying attention to, every practice, every game, we're trying to figure out our team, our lineups, our rotations. So, I mean, that'll be normal throughout the year that we're constantly paying attention to that.

On the play of Kennedy Blair …
Kennedy is such a cool story, I think often we hear the not as cool stories, and she's a story that should be a loud story. She had committed to us at Bowling Green, came to Michigan State, born and raised Spartan her whole life. Came here as a walk-on, I teased her freshman year we couldn't even put her in drills because she'd mess them all up. She got hurt, sat out, and then the summer we saw she had really developed a lot last year, we saw it a lot in practice, and then this summer, very committed, got herself in high-level fitness and just really improved so many skill parts of her game. What we saw tonight, we see consistently in practice. Her ability to pass, rebound, just impact the game, score in so many ways. It's been really fun to watch her develop over time, and for somebody to come in and really have to work their way and earn their way, we hope she's going to be able to continue to do that, but we have consistently seen her ability to do just do so many things that help the team win.

On the second half…
It's just focus; it's not getting casual. We have a sign in our locker room that says 'be an every possession player, be an every possession team' and the reality is that that's required. Especially as we get into conference and we're playing. Last year our conference had 12 teams in the NCAA tournament. So, it's not a I hope you do this, or it'd be really great if you do this, if you want to be good, it's required. We took steps in that, I thought in our exhibition we got casual, and played the score. And tonight there were some things that I thought we've been really honing in on, especially defensively, that we were sharper on. We still have tons of room to grow, I'm excited for practice, excited to get some feedback from this film and get to watch it together. Their ability to grow in the last two weeks has been good, so we got to stay on track with that.

On the importance of defensive pressure…
We talk about all the time. Practice has got to be contentious. It's got to be hard. It's been getting feisty and scrappy, and when we play it, the way we play is the way we practice. And you got to get in shape with it, too. But at practice, we're going to continue to make it really challenging. Credit to our team and credit to our scout guys for making that, we call it a competitive cauldron if we do it right. That space is a competitive cauldron. I don't know if I've ever coached a team with only three turnovers. That's pretty good. But when I was at Ashland, we did. We had some. We averaged 99 points a game. So, we did have some big scoring nights. But, when you go 13-for-20 from three, and when you share the ball that, and they're taking good shots, things like that can happen.

On how freshman guard Amy Terrian can space the floor…
Yeah, confident shooter, quick release. The other day in practice, she was torching it. She was on the green team and, like, just torching it. So, we see it in practice and it's transferring to games, but she's got a quick release, she can shoot it deep. And she's also, probably most importantly, just has incredible confidence about shooting it. We always tell our team, shooters, shoot. If you're a shooter, you've got to be willing to shoot because shooting creates space, spacing creates good offense. So yeah, it's been fun to watch.

On the importance of the team celebrating each other's success…
Yeah, that was a twin-to-twin pass, so that was pretty sweet. But we talk a lot about 'teamness'. It's an easy term to say, but spirit of a team is a competitive advantage. If there's a real true joy for another person, if there is a real trust with each other, it's absolutely a competitive advantage. Now, a night like tonight, it's easy for everybody to get excited, and that gets tested when it's tight and when it's close and when you're in real challenging situations. But I believe the power of a team over the course of a season can be incredibly advantageous. But you got to keep people understanding that it's about the mission of the team night in and night out. That can look a little different. But if we can keep the focus of the group and we can understand how much we need to help each other out. I tell them that all the time in practice. You have to help each other out. This is what's beautiful about the game of basketball, is you need people and you've got to help each other out. You got to help each other out. And tonight, we saw that. And then it's fun when you get to celebrate each other, too.

On the fit on in coming transfers Rashunda Jones and Jalyn Brown…
Yeah, well, they fit in great. They fit in really, really well. The thing that I think has been the overarching fit is that they want to be part of a good team. And so, when that becomes the focus, you want to be part of a good team, then you do those things, whatever that looks like defensively, sharing the ball, or creating to help be part of a good team. So, we're very glad they're here and they fit in well. Our whole group, half the teams new. So, we're going to keep figuring out how to play together and how we do it. And they've been on board with that so far.

On the importance of offensive rebounding tonight…
Well, rebounding is the number one thing. I mean, it's just the most important thing throughout a season. And it's not like what league you're in. It's literally the most important thing throughout a season. So, we've been harping on our group because we really have to be a good rebounding team. For us to get 19 (offensive rebounds), and we didn't have a ton of misses. So, for us to get 19 (offensive rebounds) of them back, that's a great thing. But trust me, I've got a lot of film of them not rebounding in practice. So, we're going to keep harping on them with that.

Players Mentioned

Kennedy Blair

Jalyn Brown

Rashunda Jones

Amy Terrian

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