Post-Game Quotes vs. Nebraska
12/30/2021 5:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Suzy Merchant  Â
On the win over an undefeated team...
I think you have to understand what we were up against. We were down to two and a half guards. The other guard we played can play the four spot. We had a team full of post players and Nia (Clouden) and Matilda (Ekh) and then Jayla (James) were able to play both spots for us. If you understand what we had to do for the last day and a half ... we put in a three-man game in the middle of the floor, it affected everything not to have Deedee (Hagemann), Lo (Laurel Jacqmain), (and) Mo (Moira Joiner). We are down six perimeter players, that's a lot. One or two is bad, but six people and they are all veterans. I'm really proud ... it was less about Nebraska. I just wanted to see us be gritty, fight, not give in, find a way to scratch and claw and do the best we could. And I thought they did that today.
On the freshmen performances...
We just needed them to play lights-on, big role, your minutes matter. I mean that's usually something that we haven't had to rely on for them. Tai (Taiyier Parks) doesn't play 30 minutes, I said on the radio, it has not been her MO. She had to fight through some fatigue. I was kidding, but if I told Tai she had to play 30 minutes, her heart might explode, she would be like 'Oh my god, I can't do it.' But she can do it. And she found a way to do it. What I liked about it was I saw kids that had to dig a little bit deeper that do play. And I saw some kids that didn't play that came in and understood what we need from them and did the best they could in the minutes they did play, whether it be rebounding or defending or what not.
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On Nia Clouden in foul trouble...
I said to Nia, 'Not playing you a quarter and a half is not an option, so can you do it?' She said, 'Coach, I will not foul. I promise.' I thought she did a great job. She had a few possessions to go, but I thought she did a great job defending. We tried to switch her matchup, we put her more on number 0 (Ashley Scoggin), if we could. Problem was, when we miss the ball they are in transition defense and their lead guard brings it and Nia has to stop the ball, so she ended up being on a downhill guard more than we liked. But, it can't be anyone else. If we were without her, we would have trouble scoring the ball. She is a catalyst whether it is setting people up or scoring the ball herself.
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On the crowd's impact...
It felt good to hear them. It has been about a month, since Illinois in early December. We had a couple heartbreaks ... that Florida Gulf Coast game, we could have won that one, it went to double overtime. We are down guards, we have to go back-to-back that day coming off a double overtime game. So they had some things thrown at them, that I'm like, 'Wow, come on basketball gods give us a little bit of a break here.' So, when we were at home today and knowing who we faced, I knew as the game stayed close that that crowd and that energy would propel us down the stretch, and I thought they did a good job. I love our fans here, and I know our players really appreciated them down the stretch.
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On the win over an undefeated team...
I think you have to understand what we were up against. We were down to two and a half guards. The other guard we played can play the four spot. We had a team full of post players and Nia (Clouden) and Matilda (Ekh) and then Jayla (James) were able to play both spots for us. If you understand what we had to do for the last day and a half ... we put in a three-man game in the middle of the floor, it affected everything not to have Deedee (Hagemann), Lo (Laurel Jacqmain), (and) Mo (Moira Joiner). We are down six perimeter players, that's a lot. One or two is bad, but six people and they are all veterans. I'm really proud ... it was less about Nebraska. I just wanted to see us be gritty, fight, not give in, find a way to scratch and claw and do the best we could. And I thought they did that today.
On the freshmen performances...
We just needed them to play lights-on, big role, your minutes matter. I mean that's usually something that we haven't had to rely on for them. Tai (Taiyier Parks) doesn't play 30 minutes, I said on the radio, it has not been her MO. She had to fight through some fatigue. I was kidding, but if I told Tai she had to play 30 minutes, her heart might explode, she would be like 'Oh my god, I can't do it.' But she can do it. And she found a way to do it. What I liked about it was I saw kids that had to dig a little bit deeper that do play. And I saw some kids that didn't play that came in and understood what we need from them and did the best they could in the minutes they did play, whether it be rebounding or defending or what not.
Â
On Nia Clouden in foul trouble...
I said to Nia, 'Not playing you a quarter and a half is not an option, so can you do it?' She said, 'Coach, I will not foul. I promise.' I thought she did a great job. She had a few possessions to go, but I thought she did a great job defending. We tried to switch her matchup, we put her more on number 0 (Ashley Scoggin), if we could. Problem was, when we miss the ball they are in transition defense and their lead guard brings it and Nia has to stop the ball, so she ended up being on a downhill guard more than we liked. But, it can't be anyone else. If we were without her, we would have trouble scoring the ball. She is a catalyst whether it is setting people up or scoring the ball herself.
Â
On the crowd's impact...
It felt good to hear them. It has been about a month, since Illinois in early December. We had a couple heartbreaks ... that Florida Gulf Coast game, we could have won that one, it went to double overtime. We are down guards, we have to go back-to-back that day coming off a double overtime game. So they had some things thrown at them, that I'm like, 'Wow, come on basketball gods give us a little bit of a break here.' So, when we were at home today and knowing who we faced, I knew as the game stayed close that that crowd and that energy would propel us down the stretch, and I thought they did a good job. I love our fans here, and I know our players really appreciated them down the stretch.
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Players Mentioned
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