Post-Game Quotes: Minnesota

Michigan State Head Coach Robyn Fralick

Opening statement ...
Such a special night for our program. Our last regular-season game, playing a tough team in Minnesota, and then, bigger than that, just being able to celebrate these four seniors that have meant so much to our program, meant so much to our team, and so much to this place. I'm proud of our effort. We knew coming in Minnesota's a team where you've got to gut it out. They're tough, they stay in the game, and I just love the way we kept playing. And I'm so grateful that in our last home game we could send out those seniors with the win.

On turning the page with important games coming ...
I shared with our team over the last two weeks, all we've played are tournament games. Our entire end of our schedule has been all tournament teams. Three on the road and two at home. I think we're going into March with no false understandings of what it feels like, what it looks like, what this level of team that we've been going against feels like to compete against. So that's been good. And in those games you learn a lot, right? You make a few mistakes; they get exposed. You're not dialed in on all the details;you get exposed. We've finished the season with a really, really tough stretch of games, but in a good way. I think going into March Madness, we have now been competing consistently against high-level teams. We have no idea who we're playing today. It was funny, Coach Whymer was like, 'Last night I was swiffering my floors because we actually don't know who we're playing next.' For a moment, we could savor this with the seniors. I think tonight is very much worth savoring. I'm so proud of them. They all have a different story. They've all been here a different amount of time, but they are all just first-class people. Coaching has all of its challenges, but when you get to be around great, great kids, you just feel like the luckiest. Most important basketball is still in front of us, although probably tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening, we'll know who we're playing and we'll get ready for them.

On the big three senior forward Julia Ayrault made ...
She hit a big three because they went up four. And then she also pumped the crowd up to as loud as I think they had been all night. So it was a dual combination of both making a big shot and then really engaging our crowd in it. That was a big shot. I thought it really changed momentum.

On the adjustments after halftime ...
We were choppy. I mean, they were really over helping. They were really pinching. I thought the second half we just did a much better job of better spacing, better ball movement, getting the ball into the paint after help had left. I just thought we did a better job of that. And then when we really made our surge, we got stops, we got fast-break opportunities. I thought that was true especially in that fourth quarter, that's when we got a lot of them.

On getting to have senior day with Jocelyn Tate and Nyla Hampton ...
No, but I was so fortunate to coach them at Bowling Green. Our last season there together, we had a great team. I mean, a really, really high-level, connected, really great team. When the opportunity came to come to Michigan State, that was emotional. Those are kids we felt really passionate about and loved. So when we came here and they were willing—Jocelyn right away and then Nyla this year—to really take a chance on us, I am very grateful for that. And those are two kids that I've known since they were 15, and top-of-the-line people. I'm very grateful they came to Michigan State with us.

Players Mentioned

Julia Ayrault

Nyla Hampton

Jocelyn Tate

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