Post-Game Quotes: Washington

Michigan State Head Coach Robyn Fralick

Opening Statement...
Yeah, a great win for our team tonight, I knew coming in that Washington's a really good team. I think they've been playing their best basketball as of recently as well, so we knew coming in that was gonna take a lot of focus and precision and execution, and I thought our team did a really good job of that in all the areas. It was a special night, it was Alumni Day, we had a lot of alum back from all the different eras, but it was extra special because we also got a chance to honor the 2005 National Runner-Up team. It's their 20 year reunion and that was really cool to be part of that today. I share with our team all the time when you're part of a program there's a lot of great players and coaches that come before you, and there will be a lot that come after and in the meantime, you have a responsibility to that tradition. How great to get to hear their stories and their memories and just how much they love being a Spartan. So today I thought we played really good team basketball and it was extra special with it being Alumni Day, too.

On rebounding after the Nebraska game...
We had to make some adjustments in our full-court pressure. We have to be strategic with that so we're not giving up high-percent shots. A big thing we came off of, was just passing the ball more. We came out of Nebraska, and our passing and our spacing weren't very good, and that's easy to guard. So we took a big steps forward to that tonight. I mean, 21 assists, way more efficient, way better spacing, so I was proud, you know, you come off a game like that, and one of the most important things through a season, especially the Big Ten, which teaches you a lot every night, was that these are things you have to change, right? And we don't actually have a lot of time to change, and then we have to change them quickly and practice, film, and then to be able to go out and execute and share the ball at a much higher level, I thought was really helpful for us.

On limiting turnovers after Nebraska...
They were really packing the paint, and when we weren't passing it was easy to be in help. When we started sharing the ball more it was much harder to be in help when the ball moves. I thought that was a good adjustment we made early. I thought we were doing way too much off one or two passes, but as we got playing better and as the game kept going, we moved it better, which spaced them out.

On individual players coming up big in each quarter...
For our team to be successful, we have to play good team basketball. We don't rely on one player to carry the load, we do it together, and we get stops together, we create good shots together, but you know, there's different points in each of those quarters where that was really helpful, right? I thought Grace came in the first quarter, and we really had a slow, slow start and she came in right away and got us going. Theryn really helped us extend the game late, right? Julia had a great stretch too, I thought Jocelyn Tate absolutely set the tone for our defense with her on-ball pressure. When we're playing, well, you know, you can kind of pinpoint so many different people through different parts of the game who help us win.

On the motivation of playing on Alumni Night and the 2005 team being in the building?
It is always special to play in the Breslin. We love playing at home, we love our fans, we love the energy. But when you have the greatest team in school history, it makes it special. It was fun; we were able to talk about that with our team. What that means, what that looks like, what it means to be a Spartan and come back to a place that you love, and where you bring your kids back. You get to show it off and when you love it right, do it right, and care it's fun that we get to share in that.

How important was it to get that lead in the double digits in the early stage of the 4th quarter?
It was important. Their team is so efficient, and they have so many kids who can make three's or just create easy shots. It never feels out of reach because of that ability to score the ball at a high level so I thought that really helped. We also strung stops together. Washington has been a very good offensive rebounding team, and I thought we did a good job guarding and, not always, but did a pretty good job at keeping them to one shot.

Players Mentioned

Jocelyn Tate

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