Spartans go into off weekend looking for answers

The ball is hitting all the wrong angles and parts of the rim for the MSU women’s basketball team.

The Spartans team has outshot six of its 10 opponents in conference games through Wednesday — and in two of the games they were outshot, it was only by one.

Yet the Spartans sit eighth in the Big Ten and hold a 4-6 league record.

The difference is that MSU has gone 238-for-602 while its opponents are shooting 245-for-560.

“I definitely think we’re going to go up,” sophomore center Lauren Aitch said. “We’re definitely working harder and we have probably made every mistake in the book, so we’re working our kinks out.

“If we just put the ball in the hoop we won’t have a problem.”

A persistent problem has been the number of fouls, and in turn, the number of free throws the Spartans have given up.

In its 70-56 loss to Indiana on Jan. 20, MSU committed 22 fouls, giving the Hoosiers 31 free throws — of which they made 20.

Those 20 successful free throws made the difference in the game, for MSU was 24-for-60 from the field compared to the Hoosiers’ 23-for-61 in the 14-point battle.

So what is the issue behind the Spartans’ shakiness at the rim?

MSU head coach Suzy Merchant has said confidence has something to do with it, along with a lack of focus.

Much like when MSU men’s head basketball coach Tom Izzo expressed the need for senior guard Drew Neitzel to keep shooting the ball during his drought earlier in the season, Merchant wants her players to do the same. She said the team is improving and the baskets will start to fall if the team remains focused for the full 40 minutes.

“(Our problems are) very mental, we still don’t have great flow offensively,” sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan said. “People need to know what their roles are, and our shooters need to shoot, and our drivers need to drive and when we get to the basket, we need to finish.”

In conference play, DeHaan leads the Spartans with 14 points per game followed by freshman forward Kalisha Keane with 12.7 through Wednesday.

“We’re so close,” DeHaan said. “We just have a couple things we really need to tweak and it comes with offense. Right now, it’s finishing, shooting, just putting the ball in the basket.”

The Spartans will have extra practice time to work out the kinks as they don’t play again until Feb. 7 at Iowa.