Freshman forward Kalisha Keane, left, fights for the ball against Purdue guard Kalika France during the first half of Monday night’s game at Breslin Center.
Like a broken record, the MSU women’s basketball team’s rebounding problems are happening again and again.
MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said rebounding will be one of the big keys to beat Indiana tonight — especially after being outrebounded by 12 the first time the two teams met on Jan. 20. The Spartans dropped the game, 70-56.
“(Indiana) has two of the best post players in the league, and I didn’t think we did a very good job, man or zone, getting the job done (on Jan. 20),” Merchant said. “If you’re not shooting the ball well, you have to go get it — it’s not rocket science.”
Hoosier forward Whitney Thomas nearly averages a double-double, with 12.4 points and 9.4 rebounds a game.
Merchant said Thomas is a scorer, that also can grab her teammates’ misses, which is something the Spartans are lacking.
“One thing Indiana does a nice job of is cleaning up their misses,” she said.
Three-point shooting was another hurting factor for the Spartans against the Hoosiers, since they were 4-for-21 from beyond the arc. Merchant said the team has to slow down at times and not only look for the open shot, but the smart shot as well.
Freshman forward Kalisha Keane saw only 11 minutes of court time against Purdue after being benched for continuously throwing up ill-advised shots from the field.
“With (Keane), the biggest thing is getting her to realize that she can really affect the game on both ends in a lot of different ways,” Merchant said. “The other piece that she has to understand is that she can be a playmaker for the team, like (senior guard) Courtney (Davidson) is at the guard spot.
“Kalisha has the ability to make the players around her better, she has a high basketball IQ.”
The 6-foot-9 factor
Sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan has been a huge target for opposing defenses, partly due to the fact that everyone knows about her now after watching her for a year and knows what she is capable of.
“She’s doing the best job she can,” Merchant said.
“She’s just getting pushed around a lot and it’s affecting her game.”
While teams have been jostling her out of position, it has caused her to play more physical to combat the other team, and show more on-court emotion.
The key matchup tonight for DeHaan will be Thomas.
Both players are the power shooters and rebounders on their teams and, in turn, will be vital to their teams’ success in the end.
Tip-off is 7 p.m. tonight in Bloomington, Ind.
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