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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 5, 2015Lexi GussertTori JankoskaSuzy MerchantAerial PowersHOFFMAN ESTATES, ILLINOIS Michigan State – 69 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by head coach Suzy Merchant and student‑athletes Aerial Powers, Tori Jankoska and Lexi Gussert. Coach, an opening statement. COACH MERCHANT: I'm proud of our team. I thought our intensity was really good. And really, really proud of the fight and the effort they had on both ends of the floor. And just feels good after the game to be smiling. At least to be the ones smiling, right? THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Lexi, what happened to you in the first half? LEXI GUSSERT: I guess I just came off with confidence. We played them last time I think I shot 1 for 10 in the triangle and two and that sat with me for a long time. Pretty mad coming into the game, to be honest with you. Took my anger out on them, I guess. Q. You guys look like entirely more confident team than last time. And they didn't. What changed and how much did those two losses do with you guys? AERIAL POWERS: I guess it was coming off of our last wins, we had a lot of confidence going into the game today. They had some losses coming into the game. We were hyped about it. And coming off the two losses from previous in the season, that really amped us up to be ready to kick some butt today. And we came out on fire. Q. Tori, did you see this coming at all? TORI JANKOSKA: Well, yes. But I mean we're a different team than we were the past two times we've played them. We've been a different team for the past couple of weeks. And we've had a lot of anger since the last two games, like Aerial said, and we're a totally different team. I thought we came out and proved that. It's not going to be one or the other, it's not going to be two different teams every time we play them. I thought we came out with some fire and took out our anger, like all of us did. Q. Tori, there was a moment in the second half you guys got the game in hand. You're exhausted and trapped and you call a timeout and kind of bent over. And you were smiling kind of. Could you tell me what the exchange was at that moment? COACH MERCHANT: The play before that she was so tired but she called the play for herself and she scored. Then she comes down the second time and can't get it so she called timeout. I was laughing because she was so exhausted she needed to come out. But that's what I was laughing about because my girl called a play for herself. Wasn't too tired for that. The pressure, though, got to her. Q. Tori, anything to add there? TORI JANKOSKA: I was just tired. I came over, they were trapping me. I'm like aaah, nope, timeout, sorry, I was really tired, she's like, that's all right. Q. This is the third time you've beat Michigan in the Big Ten tournament now. What is it about the tournament that gets you a win? AERIAL POWERS: I guess it's just how much this game means. If you lose, you're out of here. So that also gave us another reason to kind of‑‑ I don't know‑‑ come out on fire. And when you're in situations where you win and you stay or you lose and go home, you give it your all every single game. Q. Tori, you mentioned you guys were a different team.  In what way are you different now than before? TORI JANKOSKA: I just think everybody has improved tremendously from the beginning of the Big Ten season. Everybody was playing us or starting with the Michigan game last time we played them they went triangle and 2 and today Cara hit big shots, Lexi hit some big shots and Becca hit some threes. So that made them out of their triangle and 2 and they really had to play us man. And we had an answer for defense they threw at us. I think it was important that we had everyone fulfilling their role and stepping up and hitting shots. Q. You guys looked like obviously winning is fun, but you guys looked like a team that's having in this late what's been a very difficult season. How has that happened and how are you guys kind of withstood this playing your best basketball now? LEXI GUSSERT: I think it has a lot to do with all of our attitudes. We've all had a really good attitude. It starts with the coaches. They believed in us. No one's given up. Like Tori said we've all just been playing better. Puts a smile on all of our faces. Q. Coach, last time Coach in East Lansing you said you were a little disappointed with how your team wasn't able to shut down both Flaherty and Thompson and also Goree with Becca Mills on the inside. What was different this game and you guys kind of shutting those two shooters down and also blocking Goree out from the inside? COACH MERCHANT: Anyway, honestly that was part of the game plan. It sounds simple, but the kids that bothered us the most in the past, Flaherty had shot 50percent, averaged 50percent from the field against us and 62percent from the arc, which is unacceptable. So we talked about really having a little more urgency. One‑on‑one accountability. We track it. We chart it. Defensively, it's something that we do. And so we just haven't done that good of a job on her, as well as Thompson. Thompson sort of had her way with us almost every time we played that kid, even last year. And then Goree, she's just a handful. You have to push her off the block and play behind her but get her out of her comfort zone a little bit. You can't let her bury you deep and keep her off the boards. In the past we haven't always done that. I thought Becca and Kennedy, both, in particular Becca, but certainly Kennedy came in and did good things for us and gave Becca some time there. But those three kids have killed us. And those were a big focus, not that‑‑ Shannon Smith is a great player, too. But she works a little more off the bounce. We kind of know certain things that she does. So we were giving her cushions but the other three kids are hard to guard because you have to be able to guard the arc and handle a bounce and it makes it difficult when you have a triple‑threat scorer. And we haven't done a good job. I was proud. Tori had Flaherty most of the time and we kind of moved around a little bit. I thought Anna did a really good job on Thompson and Cara Miller came in and did some good things there as well. Q. Was it Becca mainly with her defense on Goree? What was different this time with her than before? COACH MERCHANT: She didn't let her get in the paint. That was the big thing. Kept her off the boards in the first half. Didn't do as good a job in the second half. But I thought she did a good job both those guys were meeting and greeting her before she had a chance to get a piece of the paint on duck‑ins, power post‑up and when she would push back we did a much better job of releasing and getting around quickly enough so that she wouldn't bury us deep. But she can go over either shoulder. She can handle a little bit. They don't really put her on the perimeter much. I think she's actually pretty good. I think we might have struggled a little bit if they would pick and popped that kid a little bit, because she can shoot that shot. But she is really a handful on the block. And Becca just did a better job fighting duck‑ins and meeting and greeting, and we've tried to double a little bit in the past because she hasn't done that good of a job or Kennedy hasn't done that good of a job. And when you double off them they have shooters and you're in trouble. The only kid you can really go off a little bit is Elmblad but then she dives and she can get around and they do a good job of finding her underneath. So really it was a one‑on‑one game with those three kids. You mentioned the other two guards and Goree. Those were the three kids we had to guard one‑on‑one and have great accountability for. Q. You've been tough on Becca a few times for not making plays in big situations, the senior. I mean she made shots maybe the biggest game of her career to this point. COACH MERCHANT: She came out of the gates really strong. Did a great job defensively. She rebounded the ball. I was proud of her because, as a senior, you certainly don't want to go down to anybody at this time of year but you certainly don't want to lose to your arch rival. She's a Michigan kid, and it's just the standard that you set. And I was really proud of how hard and aggressive she came out, because she was not like that against Purdue. She really struggled against Purdue. But had a great game against Rutgers. So Tori mentioned it. I think the complementary players, if that's what you want to call them, I don't know, everybody besides Tori and Aerial I think have been playing better, playing with more confidence and playing aggressively. Becca is one of those kids that tends to fluctuate sometimes. And today I thought she stayed the course and did a good job finishing, being strong, rebounding, defending, doing what she had to do to help us win the game. Q. You lost to these guys twice. Beating Michigan, not losing a third time, how important was that to you? COACH MERCHANT: Huge. I mean, yeah, I mean I didn't sleep. But I said this to Coach Dantonio when he came to our practice yesterday. It's like if you understand what it's like to be a head coach of any sport at Michigan State, for example, you know last year we won the Big Ten title. And I felt the exact same way. I mean, I couldn't sleep. I was worried about the game. It's a high stress game. And you have to understand that. That's part of the deal. That's what we do. That's what we get paid to do.  But it means something to I'm sure it means something to her, I can't speak for her, but I know for me it means everything. There's two losses on our schedule that I just, I don't like, I don't even like to think about. And again here we are, playing them for I think the third straight time in the Big Ten tournament. And multiple times. So even though we didn't win the league this year, I still felt the same way. It is what it is. It's a great rivalry. And it means something when you're a Spartan and you don't want to lose to the Wolverines, period. So our kids were pretty motivated and like Coach Dantonio said you wouldn't be in the position you're in if it was okay with you. Q. You've done this with a limited roster all year but not back‑to‑back. Are there legs to come out and what do you think about tomorrow and trying to pull an upset? COACH MERCHANT: Yeah, I mean, we've done a really good job, I think, managing. I think that's the reason I think our team is doing this, because we're smart enough to figure out how we got to manage their energy. Doesn't mean we're going to win or make every shot that kind of thing. But I think you've got to give your kids a chance. You've got to prepare them. You've got to know exactly what you have to do to take away their strengths. You have to mentally get them ready and they've got to go play the game. The one thing, though, our kids are used to playing a lot of minutes anyway. Like where other people can sit kids late in games or if they're up, like we only have seven people. So you have to put five of the seven out there. There's only a couple of people on the bench you can put in there. So they're used to logging those minutes. We've never done it necessarily back to back a lot, but we did it Baylor/Syracuse and we came out and beat Syracuse after a tough and emotional loss to Baylor. So our kids have done it one other time. I don't know, they're warriors. They're tough. I don't know what will happen tomorrow. But we'll be prepared and ready to go. But it is a concern. I mean, you're right, it's a good question, because you're right. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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