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BIG TEN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 7, 2008Allyssa DeehanSuzy MerchantBrittney ThomasAlisa WulffINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA THE MODERATOR: Okay. For Michigan State we've got head coach Suzy Merchant, Brittney Thomas, Alisa Wulff, and Allyssa DeHaan. If you'd like to open it up with a opening statement. COACH MERCHANT: We're proud of what we accomplished today. We played Minnesota twice, lost to them both times and felt like we were -- we struggled very much to defend this group of kids. And we have worked diligently. These kids have worked really hard at their scheme, the things that they do. They're key players, and I thought we did a great job on three kids in particular. And it was just a great win for our team. THE MODERATOR: Questions for student athletes. Q. Allyssa, can you talk about those final four minutes and what you talked about in the timeout going into it and what happened afterward? ALLYSSA DEHAAN: It was huge on the stretch. Everybody just kind of came together on defense we made some huge stops and hit some fire calls and huge stops on defense. And that kind of transitioned into our offense. And everybody just stepped it up and elevated their game and it was a great win. Q. Allyssa, what was it like for you? You had to sit for more than 17 minutes in the first half. Didn't get off to the greatest start. What was going through your mind? What were you doing to stay in the game? Obviously had to be a frustrating time for you? ALLYSSA DEHAAN: It was frustrating from the bench. I was trying so hard and my team did so great and they played so hard and they fought for that whole first half and I just had -- I owed it to them to come out in the second half and really give everything I had. And everybody just stepped up and we all just came together. Q. Allyssa, do you think you benefited almost from that? Not that you want it that way, but you were pressured at the end and seemed like you were calling for the ball down the stretch. ALLYSSA DEHAAN: That was an advantage sitting for 15 minutes in the first half. I was fresh and we could run and I think that did help us out. Q. Brittney, can you talk about the job you did on Fox tonight? BRITTNEY THOMAS: I think it was a team effort. Took a lot of hustle, but we decided to start switching ball screens so she wouldn't get any open looks. We did it on a couple of players, Ohm also, so she couldn't hit the 3 either. I think we just really frustrated her because she had to work so hard for every basket that she got. And I played on her most of the game, but like I said, it really came down to they set a lot of screens so our posts were stepping up. They weren't scared. They stepped up to the challenge and guarded her as well. Just like the team effort. We just made her work really hard and I don't think she was used to that. Q. Alisa, talk about that 3-pointer and how big was that for this team? Was that lead that you had? ALISA WULFF: Must give shut out to Allyssa because she's such a great post. She's really unselfish as well. She saw the double team come and I called it to her, she kicked it back out. I know my coaches and my players have all the faith in me to hit that shot. I do it in practice, so when it came to the timing I was really glad that I hit it. And, like I said, thanks to Al for kicking it out, because we really are an unselfish ball club. And we just fought so hard tonight. And I'm so proud of this group. It really means a lot to be a Spartan tonight, for everybody who was in the stands, the media that comes here, everything. We're just a really, really proud group. Q. Allyssa, I saw more fire and more emotions in you tonight than I have in games in the past. Is that something new or -- ALLYSSA DEHAAN: Well, I've been trying to work on the whole emotional thing this whole season. But I think it's kind of the whole March thing. Once you hit March, there's this feeling and atmosphere you can't describe it until you're a player. We're trying to get our freshmen come to understand that. But once it's March, every time it's you're one and done, this is it, this is our last time for our seniors to play, and you want to go out and give them everything you've got. Q. Brittney, talk about what this means for you guys in terms of potential NCAA bid. I think you were pretty well aware that this was, as was said, a one-and-done situation for that? BRITTNEY THOMAS: Exactly. We knew it was a big game, a chance to get into the NCAA. We also had so many other motivational factors for that game, that may have been the third motivational factor just because they sweeped us in conference and we knew it was a really good matchup and they're tough to defend. That was on the back burners in our minds because tonight we were just coming at Minnesota, we knew once we got past this game -- they were probably the hardest matchup we faced all season. So it's not going to be easy, but it was nice to get that one out of the way. Q. Brittney, did the week off benefit you guys at all? BRITTNEY THOMAS: Definitely. Any time you don't have to play, it's going to help you. And you get time to prepare and go over things and practice over and over when before you might have only had one or two days. All the extra days you can get, that's definitely going to help any team in preparing. Q. Alisa, you got a chance to go back and finish your career, the way it sounds, with an NCAA tournament. Talk more though about what this Big Ten tournament means to you and your career and what you want to do here in the next few games, possibly? ALISA WULFF: You know, it means a lot. I think this team has come such a long way. And just the fact that we hit that streak near the end of the season, of the regular season. We come in today and get the big win. It means a lot. We're really going out and playing our butts off and fighting every possession and like it is do or die. And we might have got an NCAA bid based on this game, but it's all about taking each game as if it's your last and going at it really hard. And we just look at every team as a challenge and we're looking forward to that challenge and stepping up to the plate and winning a Big Ten championship. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach Merchant. Q. Looking at Allyssa, she seems to be completely different and more confident than when she first came to Michigan State. Obviously you've only been here for a year, but to see her comfort level, being six-nine, playing college basketball, getting the kind of attention she's getting, what have you seen from her since you came here and started this program? COACH MERCHANT: I think with Al, I'll tell you that I've seen her grow a lot in this season, and I'll tell you mostly because when Aisha Jefferson got hurt, they were a nice dynamic duo. Aisha took the pressure off Al. Aisha is the emotional one, she's kind of the tough one down there, the rebounder. And whatever Al did or didn't do, it seemed like AJ was there to clean it up. And they worked really well together and now I feel like when AJ went down, it was Allyssa had to step up, she had to come into her own. That's a tough thing to do when you're a sophomore, and obviously she's on a lot of watch lists, and rightfully so. But that's a lot of pressure on someone like herself. And you add in the fact she's also premed student, so she's got pressure in the classroom, too. And I just think I'm really proud of her and her development in terms of the emotional side. The play will take care of itself. But I really feel like this year, because it has been mostly her that everyone keys on, she's had to really grow and develop not only the physical side but the emotional side, and I think that's been the biggest change for her. Q. Suzy, can you talk about Mia's play tonight and obviously her job getting the line and specifically that last basket that she made, that baseline drive? COACH MERCHANT: We really felt like we had to get north and south of the rim. And if we didn't against these guys -- when you watch us play the last couple of times, we really felt like we could get to the rim. We didn't get to the rim, and Mia, maybe what she lacks in quickness, she makes up with her feistiness, and she's just not going to take no for an answer. She does that on the court. She does that off the court. I mean, she's just someone that will will her way into success. And we felt like Mia was someone who could draw fouls, especially against Ohm. We felt she was susceptible to a dribble drive. We went to an open offense where we put Al in the middle and let our guards take them off the dribble baseline and she did a great job of finishing that last shot. Q. Coach, Allyssa picked up two really quick fouls, you had to take her to bench. After that Minnesota did not seem to take advantage of that and forced you to take her off the bench. How important was it to be able to keep her and protect her for that second half as far as fouls go? COACH MERCHANT: I think that was big. You have to credit this group of kids. Because obviously Allyssa is a huge part of our offense. We don't put up a lot of numbers offensively. We're not a high-powered offense. Now, you take our leading scorer out of that and it can be a little scary at times. But what we did do is I thought we defended them. We gave up, what, 74 and 81 against them. And so we knew if we could just fight defensively, it didn't matter if we were in foul trouble, whatever, if we could just stay with them defensively, we felt like we had a chance. And maybe it worked to our advantage. I mean, when I sat her down, I was like uh-oh. But a lot of other kids stepped up and she was fresher down the stretch. So that made a big difference. Q. Can you talk about Brittney's overall night tonight? She seemed to be all over the place. COACH MERCHANT: She talked about a team. It is a team. There's no question. But I'll tell you, Brittney Thomas took on the personal challenge first and foremost to really do the best job she could on Emily Fox. That's not an easy task. I think she, Emily Fox, is one of the best guards I've seen in a long time. And she's just smart and headsy and she can score in a lot of different ways and makes everybody else around her better. So Brittney gave credit to the team. That's just the kind of kid that Brittney is. But I don't think anyone deserves more credit in this win than probably Brittney on the defensive end. Q. Coach, you guys were down six about three and a half minutes to go. Here's a team that has beaten you twice. What is it about these players that allowed them to have the confidence to push through, all things considered? COACH MERCHANT: I thought we got a key stop. And then we capitalized on it. And I think in the past, with Minnesota -- I thought Courtney Davidson said it best. We watched film ad nauseam. I don't know if we've ever been more prepared for a game than this one. It was literally probably nauseous to them how prepared we were in so many phases. But I guess I just felt like, you know, when we were down -- Courtney said that they manage the ball so well when they're ahead. And I think I kept -- I had that in my head right then. If we could get a stop and capitalize on it, I think six points is one thing. That's two possessions. When it gets up to the next possession where they start to pull away, they become a totally different team in a confidence level. And I thought that was pretty astute by Courtney, watching all the film. Like I said, ad nauseam at most. But long story short, she was right. If we could get a stop and just pull it out and get one more score to keep it within reason, to keep it within a battle, I thought we were going to be all right. That timeout was pretty spirited, to say the least. Q. Can you talk a little bit about how important this win is for you guys? I mean, in the big picture of the thing. You got obviously at least one more, maybe two more here. But in the big-picture thing, everyone has been saying that this is the game that you needed to get into the NCAA tournament. COACH MERCHANT: You know, I think any team that plays in March, I just think you want to keep anything and everything you can in your own hands. I mean, we're going to play an Illinois team that's got it right in their hands, too. They're here to win this thing and get the NCAA tournament and we're here to do the same thing. So one thing I know is we can't control what other people think about us. All we can control is what we can do on the court. And I thought our kids did a great job of fighting tonight and keeping our dream and our faith alive. THE MODERATOR: Thanks. End of FastScripts |
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