Post-Game Quotes: Prairie View A&M
12/20/2022 9:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Michigan State Head Coach Suzy Merchant
On MSU's energy against Prairie View A&M…
"I think that the last two games in particular have been really high-energy. It has been good to see. I think that it has made a difference. They realize that we lost Gabby (Elliott) at Ohio State, so they realize that they need to band together and bring more for each other and with each other, especially when we lose somebody that can bring a lot to the table in the stat sheet. I think our team has banded together a little bit. This time of year, you know, it's hard. You always worry. I was really worried about this game. This team (Prairie View A&M) went on the road and played at Arizona State and at Florida. They were close games. They were in it, and they weren't getting blown out. In their five-out offense, your big has to play on the perimeter. We were switching every screen. Number 11 (Diana Rosenthal) and 23 (Kennedy Paul) can really dot your eye. They can play, so I was really nervous about that. I wasn't sure if our pressure was going to bother them enough, because they were pretty good players in terms of handling the ball. They were also doing a pretty good job in the first quarter of sending 11 and 23 up the sideline, so we were chasing after them. We wanted them to shoot it quick and fast, but we didn't want it to be 11 and 23, their best scorers. They found them early, but over time I think we were able to wear them down a little bit. The way they play, and the team's they've played, they have a lot of depth. I was extremely worried, and when it's your last game before Christmas I think you always think about whether or not your team is ready to go."
On the team's ability to stay mentally focused before the holidays…
"Give our players a lot of credit. It was really good to see them not check out mentally with the holidays coming up. I think the tone going into this game was that we needed to be focused. We knew that Prairie View A&M had gone on the road and played tough at some power fives. They've been in a lot of games this year."
On Moira Joiner's play on Tuesday night…
"She has always been one of my MVP's, because she can play one thru four. She is super consistent with her effort, she's smart, she can read angles and she can guard just about anybody. She is scrappy. She can shoot the 3-ball, or she can work and get herself to the rim. She has been working on her pull-up jumper, and it has gotten better and better. She has really become a three-level scorer. I didn't give her a ton; I didn't really give anybody a ton of minutes. The most that anybody played tonight was 21 minutes. I just like how she plays. I can move her anywhere but the five spot. When you have a kid like that, that not only can play those spots, but who knows every play and knows her responsibility offensively and defensively at different positions, she is just so valuable to our team. She reminds me of a utility guy in baseball: someone who can play three or four positions, switch-hit, and maybe pitch every now and then too. That's what Mo reminds me of."
On Moira Joiner's recovery from a concussion earlier in her career…
"She has really been great. She had her final appointment on Monday after we played Detroit Mercy on Sunday. She had to go and do checkups every so often with things like impact tests involved. Knock on wood, but she hasn't had any real issues at all. Seeing a specialist at U of M really helped, because he felt like some of the things that were diagnosed as concussions really weren't. She may have had some things going on with spasms in her neck, as well as other cranial issues that may make someone a little dizzy. He did a really good job of diagnosing that sort of stuff and developing a comfort level with her. I'm glad she's back, and she has been great every practice. I think that she is such a valuable piece of what we do and how we do it.
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On MSU's energy against Prairie View A&M…
"I think that the last two games in particular have been really high-energy. It has been good to see. I think that it has made a difference. They realize that we lost Gabby (Elliott) at Ohio State, so they realize that they need to band together and bring more for each other and with each other, especially when we lose somebody that can bring a lot to the table in the stat sheet. I think our team has banded together a little bit. This time of year, you know, it's hard. You always worry. I was really worried about this game. This team (Prairie View A&M) went on the road and played at Arizona State and at Florida. They were close games. They were in it, and they weren't getting blown out. In their five-out offense, your big has to play on the perimeter. We were switching every screen. Number 11 (Diana Rosenthal) and 23 (Kennedy Paul) can really dot your eye. They can play, so I was really nervous about that. I wasn't sure if our pressure was going to bother them enough, because they were pretty good players in terms of handling the ball. They were also doing a pretty good job in the first quarter of sending 11 and 23 up the sideline, so we were chasing after them. We wanted them to shoot it quick and fast, but we didn't want it to be 11 and 23, their best scorers. They found them early, but over time I think we were able to wear them down a little bit. The way they play, and the team's they've played, they have a lot of depth. I was extremely worried, and when it's your last game before Christmas I think you always think about whether or not your team is ready to go."
On the team's ability to stay mentally focused before the holidays…
"Give our players a lot of credit. It was really good to see them not check out mentally with the holidays coming up. I think the tone going into this game was that we needed to be focused. We knew that Prairie View A&M had gone on the road and played tough at some power fives. They've been in a lot of games this year."
On Moira Joiner's play on Tuesday night…
"She has always been one of my MVP's, because she can play one thru four. She is super consistent with her effort, she's smart, she can read angles and she can guard just about anybody. She is scrappy. She can shoot the 3-ball, or she can work and get herself to the rim. She has been working on her pull-up jumper, and it has gotten better and better. She has really become a three-level scorer. I didn't give her a ton; I didn't really give anybody a ton of minutes. The most that anybody played tonight was 21 minutes. I just like how she plays. I can move her anywhere but the five spot. When you have a kid like that, that not only can play those spots, but who knows every play and knows her responsibility offensively and defensively at different positions, she is just so valuable to our team. She reminds me of a utility guy in baseball: someone who can play three or four positions, switch-hit, and maybe pitch every now and then too. That's what Mo reminds me of."
On Moira Joiner's recovery from a concussion earlier in her career…
"She has really been great. She had her final appointment on Monday after we played Detroit Mercy on Sunday. She had to go and do checkups every so often with things like impact tests involved. Knock on wood, but she hasn't had any real issues at all. Seeing a specialist at U of M really helped, because he felt like some of the things that were diagnosed as concussions really weren't. She may have had some things going on with spasms in her neck, as well as other cranial issues that may make someone a little dizzy. He did a really good job of diagnosing that sort of stuff and developing a comfort level with her. I'm glad she's back, and she has been great every practice. I think that she is such a valuable piece of what we do and how we do it.
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Players Mentioned
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