Post-Game Quotes: Illinois
2/4/2021 11:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Suzy Merchant
On getting contributions from the whole team tonight and trying different guard rotations with Moira Joiner in the starting lineup...
(Alicia) Smith played well in there, but as far as another guard type person to be consistent up there, I think what I did like was we shared the ball so well that everybody was five points, seven points, six points, that kind of thing. So I did feel like the ball was distributed well amongst everybody that played, which was a real positive thing.
This game was a little harder to kind of find out who as I say 'Batman or Robin' kind of, to find out who that Robin is going to be, and we changed the starting lineup and took Alyza out, mostly production-wise, we needed to make a change there I think and one thing Mo (Moira) does is she can shoot the 3-ball, but she also does a good job defensively, she's a bigger guard, and I think she really understands off-ball defense. You saw her get her hands on a lot of balls and she rebounds, and is a better defensive rebounder at times too, and with their guard play, their guards were a little bit bigger, and can elevate over shooters, so we felt like having Mo in the lineup was beneficial for sure in this game.
On what she saw from team in second quarter when they seemed to really take control of the game...
Well I thought we did a really good job of getting stops and getting our transition game going. I thought our kids did a really good job of running and transition, hitting that drag screen and really looking for 3-point shooters; it seemed like we spaced the floor really well. I do think we got some nice offensive rebound opportunities and our hands on balls for extra possessions as well. Overall, I think we did a good job of not fouling Illinois, they do a really good job of getting to the free throw line so that was something we really wanted to make sure that we kept our hands off of them and I think we didn't contribute to them setting their defense at the other end as often, as they weren't at the free throw line with the ability to do that.
On during the little bit of struggles in the third quarter of how much it helps to have a player like Nia Clouden to just kind of slow things down...
Yeah, definitely I think she's been the most consistent player for us, she's an all-conference player. I know she's not on that (Nancy) Lieberman Award Watch List as one of the best point guards in the country and I don't know why because I mean I feel like her numbers are unbelievable. She's top four in the league in scoring, I think almost top five in assists in a BCS high-powered league that has a lot of teams that are very talented. She's been consistent, and I think she's just someone that we can rely on, and that's when we're having some ups and downs is sometimes we don't know who our second and third scorers some nights are going to be but we always know Nia is going to get us something. And if they really are attacking her, she does a good job of distributing the ball and her vision has really improved as a guard. And that's what the best players in the country do, that are in that role and in that position, not only do they score the ball, but they certainly create for other people, so I thought she did a really good job of that tonight with her five assists and she led us in assists.
On Alisia Smith being in the starting lineup last four games and posting double-figures in three of them and how much she's liking consistency from the post position with reliable scoring...Â
I definitely think that's a big part of kind of where we've got to continue to improve as a team and where we can get more scoring, because she's very capable, and she's been consistent as you mentioned. What I like about her is she's pretty versatile, she can kind of hit that 15-18 footer, she certainly, if she gets fouled and she didn't tonight, but I think against Wisconsin she shot 13 free throws against them and was 11-for-13, so she knows how to get fouled and she's really working on her finishing skills in there. She's a worker, she's always texting Coach Dean (assistant coach Dean Lockwood) to get in the gym every single day, she gets a good 45-minute individual workout with him, regardless of what day it is, what time it is, what the season looks like, who we're playing next, and she's very committed to her personal growth and I think obviously you can see that that makes a big difference on the court, so it's been fun to watch her and she's had some really big rebounds for us too. There were some where she went up and left her feet  in a crowd there and got out of some possessions that maybe could have gone another way.
On how nice it was to back at home for the first game since Jan. 10, how it looked like everybody was enjoying themselves out there to back on their home court...
It was really it was so good to be home. That was a long stretch, mostly because we had some bus trips, I think I counted 24 hours on a bus in a week, we were six hours to Madison and back, and then the one to Indiana was a haul because of the weather, so I mean those kids were in a bus traveling 24 hours to start the week and end the week, and a flight to Maryland in between that, so I know they were so happy to put their suitcases in their apartments and sleep in their own beds and be here for at least a couple games. I know I was, so I'm sure they were ecstatic as well. No place like home, no question.
Â
On getting contributions from the whole team tonight and trying different guard rotations with Moira Joiner in the starting lineup...
(Alicia) Smith played well in there, but as far as another guard type person to be consistent up there, I think what I did like was we shared the ball so well that everybody was five points, seven points, six points, that kind of thing. So I did feel like the ball was distributed well amongst everybody that played, which was a real positive thing.
This game was a little harder to kind of find out who as I say 'Batman or Robin' kind of, to find out who that Robin is going to be, and we changed the starting lineup and took Alyza out, mostly production-wise, we needed to make a change there I think and one thing Mo (Moira) does is she can shoot the 3-ball, but she also does a good job defensively, she's a bigger guard, and I think she really understands off-ball defense. You saw her get her hands on a lot of balls and she rebounds, and is a better defensive rebounder at times too, and with their guard play, their guards were a little bit bigger, and can elevate over shooters, so we felt like having Mo in the lineup was beneficial for sure in this game.
On what she saw from team in second quarter when they seemed to really take control of the game...
Well I thought we did a really good job of getting stops and getting our transition game going. I thought our kids did a really good job of running and transition, hitting that drag screen and really looking for 3-point shooters; it seemed like we spaced the floor really well. I do think we got some nice offensive rebound opportunities and our hands on balls for extra possessions as well. Overall, I think we did a good job of not fouling Illinois, they do a really good job of getting to the free throw line so that was something we really wanted to make sure that we kept our hands off of them and I think we didn't contribute to them setting their defense at the other end as often, as they weren't at the free throw line with the ability to do that.
On during the little bit of struggles in the third quarter of how much it helps to have a player like Nia Clouden to just kind of slow things down...
Yeah, definitely I think she's been the most consistent player for us, she's an all-conference player. I know she's not on that (Nancy) Lieberman Award Watch List as one of the best point guards in the country and I don't know why because I mean I feel like her numbers are unbelievable. She's top four in the league in scoring, I think almost top five in assists in a BCS high-powered league that has a lot of teams that are very talented. She's been consistent, and I think she's just someone that we can rely on, and that's when we're having some ups and downs is sometimes we don't know who our second and third scorers some nights are going to be but we always know Nia is going to get us something. And if they really are attacking her, she does a good job of distributing the ball and her vision has really improved as a guard. And that's what the best players in the country do, that are in that role and in that position, not only do they score the ball, but they certainly create for other people, so I thought she did a really good job of that tonight with her five assists and she led us in assists.
On Alisia Smith being in the starting lineup last four games and posting double-figures in three of them and how much she's liking consistency from the post position with reliable scoring...Â
I definitely think that's a big part of kind of where we've got to continue to improve as a team and where we can get more scoring, because she's very capable, and she's been consistent as you mentioned. What I like about her is she's pretty versatile, she can kind of hit that 15-18 footer, she certainly, if she gets fouled and she didn't tonight, but I think against Wisconsin she shot 13 free throws against them and was 11-for-13, so she knows how to get fouled and she's really working on her finishing skills in there. She's a worker, she's always texting Coach Dean (assistant coach Dean Lockwood) to get in the gym every single day, she gets a good 45-minute individual workout with him, regardless of what day it is, what time it is, what the season looks like, who we're playing next, and she's very committed to her personal growth and I think obviously you can see that that makes a big difference on the court, so it's been fun to watch her and she's had some really big rebounds for us too. There were some where she went up and left her feet  in a crowd there and got out of some possessions that maybe could have gone another way.
On how nice it was to back at home for the first game since Jan. 10, how it looked like everybody was enjoying themselves out there to back on their home court...
It was really it was so good to be home. That was a long stretch, mostly because we had some bus trips, I think I counted 24 hours on a bus in a week, we were six hours to Madison and back, and then the one to Indiana was a haul because of the weather, so I mean those kids were in a bus traveling 24 hours to start the week and end the week, and a flight to Maryland in between that, so I know they were so happy to put their suitcases in their apartments and sleep in their own beds and be here for at least a couple games. I know I was, so I'm sure they were ecstatic as well. No place like home, no question.
Â
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballRobyn Fralick Postgame Press Conference | Oakland
Sunday, November 23
Robyn Fralick Postgame Press Conference | Eastern Illinois
Thursday, November 20
Robyn Fralick Postgame Press Conference | Western Michigan
Sunday, November 16
Robyn Fralick Postgame Press Conference | Youngstown State
Wednesday, November 12