Last Sunday Mount St. Mary’s beat Bryant 60-42 in the NEC women’s tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Mount won exactly 1 game in December but got hot at the right time and won each of their last 6 games to make the NCAA tourney, where they will face fellow #16 seed Longwood in Raleigh on Thursday. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Mount St. Mary’s SR Michaela Harrison about getting a new coach and winning the conference tourney.
You were born/raised in Ohio: what made you choose the Mount? I was actually born in Atlanta but grew up in Ohio. My former head coach was at Walsh University and she offered me a scholarship as a freshman. A couple of years later she called me back to say that she had just been hired at the Mount and wanted me to be her 1st scholarship player. I felt that the stars were aligned: there are not too many coaches who make you offers at 2 different schools.
You are majoring in business: why did you pick that subject, and what is the post-graduation plan? I want to do something in athletic apparel: traveling, marketing, innovating, etc. That is the goal, whether it is Nike/Under Armour/other.
You have a new coach this year in Antoine White: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He is a players’ coach and has a great relationship with each of us. He is great at listening to us and vice-versa. He coaches with his heart and just wants the best for us: he is a great coach/great guy.
In your home opener you beat Valley Forge by a score of 102-15: what the heck happened?! Every D-1 school has that 1 get-your-feet-wet game against a smaller school and we were just trying to get into a rhythm: it ended up being a large margin but it just happened that way.
You only won 1 more game after that until January: how were you able to turn things around in conference play? We played a lot of tough schools in non-conference play but the conference games are what truly matter. We gave away a couple of games but everyone remained on the same page and our coaches had great game plans throughout the conference tourney.
Last January you set a school record for career 3PM in an 8-PT win over Merrimack: what is key to making shots from behind the arc? A LOT of reps! I constantly get into the gym to put in that extra time. My coaches/teammates have confidence in me so I just keep shooting.
Last Sunday in the NEC tourney title game you scored 17 PTS in a win over Bryant: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was such a special feeling to win the tourney back-to-back. It was even better this year because our families were not in the gym last year due to COVID: I am so glad that we could get it done.
You previously volunteered at the Special Olympics: how much importance do you place on community service? Our team does that every year and I love it. The athletes are so excited to reach their personal goals and it is a heartwarming experience: I have met so many nice people and made so many connections.
Kendall Bresee was named conference POY/DPOY last year: how crucial has she been to your team’s success? She is a huge part of why we win games: she can play 1 through 5 and defend 1 through 5. She can do everything and it will be hard to find someone to fill her shoes next year after she leaves: she is a special player.
How do you feel about being a #16 seed, and what do you know about Longwood? As a small school it is hard to get a higher seed but we are just excited to be in the tourney. We know Longwood is athletic but it will be great to be in the 1st 4.