Post-Game Quotes: NCAA Second Round - Mississippi State
3/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
2016 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Second Round · Mississippi State vs. Michigan State
Humphrey Coliseum · Starkville, Miss.
Sunday, March 20
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES â€" MICHIGAN STATE
Suzy Merchant, Michigan State Head Coach:
Opening Statement…
"These are tough moments. Its unfortunate that there was still a little more opportunity for us at the end to get one more play, so that was a little difficult. It was a great atmosphere. I have to give Mississippi State credit. I have been a head coach for 21 years, played in a lot of arenas with a lot of people, maybe even more people, but I have never played in front of a crowd like that, ever. That was the loudest crowd I have ever played in front of. The attendance was around 7,000 and it felt like there were 70,000 in there. I am proud of my team. They could have easily stepped back as things kind of got away from us and they went on a 20-0 run. I thought it was a good basketball game, and it could've gone either way. It's unfortunate somebody has to lose a game like that."
On how they managed to get out of the hole they were in…
"Defensive rebounding and running. We got some stops and started scoring. I thought we did a good job finding each other and keeping them off the ball. We went a little bigger with Jenna [Allen] and Jasmine [Hines]. We tried to combat some of that and get some defensive rebounds. As hard as they go to the board, we got the rebound. We knew we could run them. We thought the higher scoring and faster pace for us is a better situation, and it was. I felt like the first team to 70 was going to win this thing. They were just not a great scoring team. You have to give them credit, Breanna [Richardson] is not a shooter. That three she hit and the one Victoria [Vivians] hit, we didn't make them work, which was disappointing. I thought we should have been a little more aggressive on that, especially Vivians three she hit. I felt like that was a big back breaker that tied the game up if I remember correctly. It was just disappointing. I didn't have another timeout at the end, so I knew we would just have to make the call. We had some good execution down the stretch. That three that Branndais [Agee] got fouled on, if she makes those we would've had a chance to tie it up. We did a nice job executing, we just didn't finish."
Tori Jankoska, Michigan State Guard:
On the final sequence…
"I knew there wasn't much time left and we were only down two, so we didn't need a three. So I thought I would try and get an easy shot. I got a good look at it and didn't make it, which I thought was disappointing. Jasmine [Hines] got the rebound and then we had another opportunity, but the game ended."
On plays she will continue to think about…
"Definitely the last shot. I had a chance to tie it. It was a really good look and it didn't go in. That will definitely be one that sticks in my mind for a really long time."
Aerial Powers, Michigan State Forward:
On momentum shift in the final minute…
"To go on a 20-0 run and not score, especially a team like that is kind of crazy. You can say our defense kind of stopped them. Mississippi State is a good basketball team, so going on a 20-0 run they have to start to score somehow. That's what they did, they got a couple of buckets and we went back and forth. We lost by two, and it was a hard fought game."
On what changed after halftime…
"I think our focus changed a little bit. We settled in a little more and started to get rebounds and started being more confident."
On the last shot sequence…
"Jenna [Allen] got the rebound off the missed free throw and passed it to Tori [Jankoska]. Tori went down, got a really good look at it and took a shot, but it just didn't fall. Jamine [Hines] got the rebound and she tried to put it up, they tipped it back in and we just ran out of time."
Branndais Agee, Michigan State Guard:
On the first half and how she kept her team in the running…
"Just being confident, and I knew my team needed me to play defense. I was just confident."
