Post-Game Quotes: Penn State
2/12/2023 6:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Michigan State Interim Head Coach Dean Lockwood
Opening Statement...
Just very proud of the team's resilience today. We had a nine point lead and kind of squandered that a little bit. In those moments, we could have unraveled a little bit more than we did. Just very very proud of their grit, their unity, their reliance to bounce back. I thought defensively, we got a little bit better down the stretch there. We also took care of the ball nicely in the second half. Just very proud of our players for doing that. I credit Tilly (Matilda Ekh), who had a great game optically at 21, but I credit her teammates for finding her. Her teammates got her some great open looks, and again, I just think we played very well together. I'm very proud of how this team played today, just how they fought. Very proud of them for that. Â
On DeeDee Hagemann bouncing back in overtime after missing free throws towards the end of regulation...Â
No question. We have talked about this, and our players have heard this from me a lot - I'm a broken record in some areas - but, a sign of a mentally strong person is when something bad happens, a person who is not mentally strong, they almost become a victim. They start feeling bad, they feel sorry. A mentally strong person bounces back, and DeeDee I thought did a great job of that after the missed free-throws. You know, that was just one aspect of her game. She had eight assists tonight, she really ran the offenses well, she communicated well. I thought DeeDee's defense here in recent games has really really come on. So, I credit her for having the mental strength to miss some key free throws, and she could have got down, but she just fought back, so she is a big part of that. Â
On the togetherness and chemistry the team showed...Â
The credit goes to our players. Our player are the ones doing that. Our players are the one that deserve the credit. An old phrase I learned in teacher education was 'carry over is evidence of learning.' So, you can talk about whatever you want to talk about, but until there's carry over in that, you don't see it. You know, again, I credit our players. Our players are the ones that carried it over. They embraced it. Their communication was a lot better. Again, DeeDee did a great job out front leading us. I thought our other players did a great job responding to her. We changed our ball screen defense a couple times, and again, I thought there was great communication in those moments. So, again I'll tell you this: It's our players. Our players deserve the credit for that piece. Â
On the relief of winning a tight game...Â
I mean, again, this is our fourth overtime and the first three haven't gone well, so here, especially when we lost that lead, that can be a little disheartening. But once again, you're in this circumstance and you have to battle through. I'm big in looking in people's eyes. I saw in our players eyes, it was kind of like, 'Gosh, we need to win that,' but they came back and they had some grit in that huddle, so I was very pleased with that. Once again, I'm going to credit them, because at that moment we could have referred to ancient history and said 'Oh guys, this has happened three other times,' and instead, they just did what they had to do. They stayed the course, stuck with the game plan, kept solid, kept the game very simple. I liked how we kept the game simple down the stretch, and again, the players deserve the credit for that. They did an excellent job of hanging tough. Â
On how to make sure the momentum sticks for the upcoming games… Â
We have to learn from what we are doing well and continue to apply it against solid defense. We gave up too many layups, but we continued to battle, make adjustments, rebound, and we need to continue that. We have to do the things we are doing now that have gotten us these two wins in a row. I credit our team that knocked some great shots down, and we must carry it over to Purdue. Â
On how crucial it is to have someone like Taiyier Parks, especially in a tough game like this…Â
It's huge. She is playing like you want a senior and upperclassman to play. She is showing a lot of toughness. She is being very coachable, and we are getting a lot of consistency through her. Her contributions tonight were huge. When she applies herself, she elevates her game and the game of people around her. There is a special energy to her. She is really locked in and it's big to have that presence. Â
On Brookly Rewers' impact in the game...
She has been practicing very well. I was proud of how she played; very composed, focused and finished well. Very proud of her and her composure. Â
