Post-Game Quotes: Wisconsin
1/11/2023 10:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Michigan State Head Coach Suzy Merchant
On the first three quarters and finding themselves in a hole until the end of regulation…
Yeah, I mean, we kind talked about it there. It just seems sometimes like a team that is competitively immature, you know, you're gonna be inspired in one game, but not consistent in the next. So, that's just not the recipe in this league to win games. We were destroyed inside by their post player, I mean, 31 and 13, the kid had a heck of a game. We never got around her. She scored 17, almost as much as our whole team did in the first half her alone. (The) kid averages 11 game, so her competitive energy was great from tip all the way to the end. She had two big offensive rebounds down the stretch there that cost us the game.
On one of the few bright spots being Moira's (Joiner) performance, specifically the steal that led to the first bucket that tied it up in the fourth and what she brought to the team tonight…
She played really well. Mo's a two-way player. She really can guard and defend and plays with such great energy and toughness and she can score the ball. And then you put in other kids out there, and well, maybe they're better defenders, but they can't score. Then you put offensive players out there who can't defend. So, I think sometimes our team is a struggle where you don't get consistency when it comes to both sides of the ball. And when we're not scoring, we moved her (Moira) to the four, which can be an issue for us because of mismatches at the four. But she's a fighter, you know, really been impressed with how she's been playing on both sides of the ball. She plays long minutes. She plays hard. I wish everybody on my team played as hard as Mo Joiner because that kid plays so hard every possession. I think that other kids just kinda go through the motions at times and then, you know, other kids have spurts of that, but I think Mo prides herself on being that blue-collar, tough competitor, and she's always there competing, even in practice. The kid's a competitor in practice, you don't have to ask the kid to get in a drill, you know, she's not taking three, four, five reps off, or going through the motions so she can get out of practice. She's always in the gym before practice, after practice. She puts her time in. I mean, there's a reason why she's doing what she's doing, because she works at it.
On not being a "moral victories" person, but if she (Coach) gets any confidence, even with all the issues they had, to still able to hang so close with a team like Wisconsin…
No, because we shouldn't really have been in that position, you know. I think top to bottom, I think we had consistency the last couple of games from some kids, you know. DeeDee (Hagemann) played a great game, she played both sides of the ball, I thought she played really, really good today too. I mean, I'm not putting Mo (Moira Joiner) as the only guy, DeeDee brought it on both ends in both halves. Seven assists, two turnovers, three steals, you know, she did what she could. But, the problem is that we don't have players right now that are playing full games like that, you know. I thought DeeDee and Mo were the most complete that we had at playing full games and on both sides of the ball. Everybody's good enough to able to, I'm just really disappointed in how we played the first half and how slow and through the motions that we went. We gotta kinda figure that out, you know, because it doesn't get any easier with Michigan on the road.
On the performance of Taiyier Parks...
Offensively, she did some good things. Where you really have to look at it though is on the defensive side of the ball, while guarding that kid [Serah Williams] and eliminating her touches. I just think when she ducks in, catches the ball at the high post, goes by us, spins, and gets rebounds, it is okay, but you have to play both sides of the ball. At the end of the day, it is putting two things together. She was certainly better than I thought Isa (Isaline Alexander) was. She brought energy and got her hands on some balls while offensive rebounding. Collectively, I do not think it was a great forty-minute run for almost anyone on our team."
On rebounding from the loss...
You have to stay in the fight and keep grinding. People have to get better and they have to own that part. Defensive rebounding has been a problem for us all year. I've complained about it, so we work on it and emphasize it. (Associate Head Coach) Dean (Lockwood) does a lot of position work, film wise. We just do not have a tenacious, 'go-get' rebounder. I think we lost that when we lost Gabby (Elliott), she was a really good defensive rebounder. We have to get a little more tenacious down there, especially in the last stretch. The last minute or so we didn't make defensive plays when we needed to.
On the significance of free throws made late in the game...
We have been talking about it. We have both of our five positions shooting one hundred free throws before or after practice consistently. And our point guards. Our centers and point guards are the ones who are fouled most consistently. If you look at it from a statistical standpoint, you want to continue to get points from the line. The guys that are getting fouled on our team are the point and the five position. They are putting in the time and the work is continuing to pay off. Tonight was one of those nights where it paid off.
On the upcoming rivalry game against Michigan...
You can't worry about your last one. It's your next one. It is disappointing, because we shouldn't have put ourselves in this position. I felt we didn't play we the competitive urgency and toughness we needed to play with for four quarters. In this league, everybody is good enough to beat you and that is why we play the game. You can't carry it with you. You have to find a way to move past it and get better in the next two days and battle Michigan on the road.
