Post-Game Quotes: Iowa
12/15/2024 5:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Michigan State Head Coach Robyn Fralick
Opening Statement:
A great basketball game today at the Breslin Center. A lot of credit to Iowa, coming in, we knew they were a good team, a really tough matchup. The game literally came down to the last possession. I was proud of our team, we did not have much momentum at all throughout the middle of the game. But we stuck with it. We kept doing what we do. Then we eventually get that breakthrough in the fourth quarter. A lot of credit to Nyla Hampton, I thought she really got us going. Our defense was stout. We knew coming in rebounding was going to be a big deal and getting our guards more involved. We finished with a stop. I thought Julia's (Ayrault) defense on that last play was really really good. Proud of our team. There are a lot of ways to win, and we keep finding different ways. Tonight I really thought we did it on the defensive end.
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What led to this comeback and fight?
We have been in that spot a few times this season. It is a spot we are familiar with, I think it is a spot that still has a belief and confidence where they say that they have plenty of time. We got a few steals and a few and-ones, which I thought got us a lot of momentum. There was the middle part of the game where they were hitting a lot of threes and then they started to miss a few and we were able to get that first rebound. And when we were able to rebound, and push in transition we were able to create some good looks. It was kind of a multitude of things, I also thought Ines Sotelo, our freshman, in that second half really did some good things in our press, and got some momentum back on our side.
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On cutting down turnovers in the second half...
 I told them at halftime, we weren't moving the ball. It is like, we work on things all the time and when the game lights come on, you have got to be able to translate when the popcorn's popping and the game lights are on, we have to do the same thing. We harped at halftime about ball movement, we were standing still and freezing a lot. I just thought we did a much better job of moving the ball.
What does it say that you can still win having missed 10 free throws and a lane violation?
 I told them, we do not have to make it this hard. We left 11 points. And we do a good job getting to the free throw line, that is something we can consistently do this year. We made it interesting. Credit to our team, when the game was on the line, we played some really good defense. Hopefully, we do not have to make it quite as interesting.
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On handling Iowa's physicality...
I think it took us a while. They had 14 offensive rebounds. We just knew rebounding was such a big part of this game. I thought the first half too would be like, we would tip it and they would get the ball back. We had to do a better job of just winning the ball, win the loose ball. It would not be a jump ball, they would win it. The second half, we were much tougher, in crowds, loose balls, rebounding, we made a big emphasis on our guards getting more involved in defensive rebounding because we know (Hannah) Stuelke is a load, she is a really good player. She is really good at getting her own misses. I thought that the second half was much better. And when we rebound, our offense is much better. Those two, that connection, that helped us.
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Opening Statement:
A great basketball game today at the Breslin Center. A lot of credit to Iowa, coming in, we knew they were a good team, a really tough matchup. The game literally came down to the last possession. I was proud of our team, we did not have much momentum at all throughout the middle of the game. But we stuck with it. We kept doing what we do. Then we eventually get that breakthrough in the fourth quarter. A lot of credit to Nyla Hampton, I thought she really got us going. Our defense was stout. We knew coming in rebounding was going to be a big deal and getting our guards more involved. We finished with a stop. I thought Julia's (Ayrault) defense on that last play was really really good. Proud of our team. There are a lot of ways to win, and we keep finding different ways. Tonight I really thought we did it on the defensive end.
Â
What led to this comeback and fight?
We have been in that spot a few times this season. It is a spot we are familiar with, I think it is a spot that still has a belief and confidence where they say that they have plenty of time. We got a few steals and a few and-ones, which I thought got us a lot of momentum. There was the middle part of the game where they were hitting a lot of threes and then they started to miss a few and we were able to get that first rebound. And when we were able to rebound, and push in transition we were able to create some good looks. It was kind of a multitude of things, I also thought Ines Sotelo, our freshman, in that second half really did some good things in our press, and got some momentum back on our side.
Â
On cutting down turnovers in the second half...
 I told them at halftime, we weren't moving the ball. It is like, we work on things all the time and when the game lights come on, you have got to be able to translate when the popcorn's popping and the game lights are on, we have to do the same thing. We harped at halftime about ball movement, we were standing still and freezing a lot. I just thought we did a much better job of moving the ball.
What does it say that you can still win having missed 10 free throws and a lane violation?
 I told them, we do not have to make it this hard. We left 11 points. And we do a good job getting to the free throw line, that is something we can consistently do this year. We made it interesting. Credit to our team, when the game was on the line, we played some really good defense. Hopefully, we do not have to make it quite as interesting.
Â
On handling Iowa's physicality...
I think it took us a while. They had 14 offensive rebounds. We just knew rebounding was such a big part of this game. I thought the first half too would be like, we would tip it and they would get the ball back. We had to do a better job of just winning the ball, win the loose ball. It would not be a jump ball, they would win it. The second half, we were much tougher, in crowds, loose balls, rebounding, we made a big emphasis on our guards getting more involved in defensive rebounding because we know (Hannah) Stuelke is a load, she is a really good player. She is really good at getting her own misses. I thought that the second half was much better. And when we rebound, our offense is much better. Those two, that connection, that helped us.
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Players Mentioned
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