“We were all really disappointed the way the weekend turned out, and no one was more disappointed than the players — the ones who didn’t play their best games,” she said. “In words we use, honestly, you’ve got to show up. You’ve just got to show up.
“We had a few not do that, and they were really hurt. But you’re fortunate as a coach when you have a team that’s invested like this one. You really don’t have to say a lot. You can’t make them feel any worse than they already feel.”
The top-seeded Raiders (15-7) will get a chance to make amends as they kick off the league tourney with a quarterfinal home game at 2 p.m. Tuesday against eighth-seeded Northern Kentucky (8-10), which advanced with a 68-54 first-round win over Robert Morris.
They’ve won 13 straight times against the Norse since 2015, but, like any coach, Merriweather can find plenty of reasons to be concerned about the matchup.
“It’s hard to beat ANYBODY in the tournament,” she said. “Everybody’s mentality is different. You’re going to get everybody’s best shot because they know it could be their last game.”
She also pointed out the Raiders have been better on the road (10-3) than at the Nutter Center (5-4).
“I have to be transparent — I like away games. I think it’s easier to focus on away games. We’ve got them in the hotels, and we take their phones, like the old school days in the ’90s, the night before to stop them from being distracted,” she said.
“But I don’t think it’ll matter this week. They’re focused and excited to play.”
Merriweather, who is in her fifth year, has led the Raiders to three regular-season titles and one tourney crown.
She was voted by her peers as the league’s coach of the year for the third time, but she’s uncomfortable being singled out.
“Obviously, I appreciate the respect from our coaches, but all the credit goes to the players and our staff and our support people,” she said. “There were a lot of moving parts, and they made it work during a year with a pandemic.
“We do take a step back and view the big picture once in a while, and it’s a proud moment for me. The only thing I do take credit for is I get to hire (and recruit) these awesome people. When they’re great, you hear, ‘Trina, I can’t believe you got THEM here.’”
Merriweather has clearly taken the program to a new level, but she insists she was set up for success by previous coaches Mike Bradbury, who led the Raiders to their first NCAA berth in 2014, and Bridgett Williams.
Bradbury is coaching now at New Mexico, while Williams went into high school coaching after leaving Wright State.
“When it got handed to us, it was on the upswing,” Merriweather said. “You take a look back and see where it was going when Mike was the head coach and I was an assistant here — the winning tradition and mentality he brought. And even with the coaches before like Bridgett, there were talented players here.
“Wright State has always been this hidden gem. If you can make the right connections and get the right players on campus — and they can see how phenomenal the facilities are and get a chance to feel our genuine family environment — you can sign some people (others) think you shouldn’t be able to get.”
TUESDAY’S GAME
Northern Kentucky at Wright State, 2 p.m., ESPN+
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