Rebounding is the key to victory - that is what the No. 10 MSU women's basketball team believes.
This has been the case for the Spartans, especially last Sunday against Indiana. The Spartans got a lot of rebounding from players on the floor that are not known for their superior rebounding.
"It was outstanding for us to have the production on the boards from our two guards (on Sunday)," junior forward Liz Shimek said. "It shows that we are a very balanced team and everybody can rebound and score on any given night."
Against Indiana, senior guard Kristin Haynie had a career high of 14 rebounds and sophomore guard Victoria Lucas-Perry had 10 rebounds. Starting senior center Kelli Roehrig, who picked up two quick fouls, finished the game with only three rebounds.
"Our two guards just showed how beastly this team can be," Roehrig said. "It also shows that us big players need to step it up a little bit, but it is just great to get the production from them all over the floor."
For the year, the Spartans have only been outrebounded twice and were even only once. Throughout the year, the Spartans have been getting rebounds from all four of their main starters at guard.
Junior guard Lindsay Bowen is averaging just under three per game, and sophomore guard Rene Haynes is averaging just more than three a game. Lucas-Perry is averaging 4.4 per game, and Haynie is pulling down an average of seven rebounds per game.
"This just shows that if the game isn't going the way they want them to, then they will get an attitude," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.
"I don't think that either girl (Haynie or Lucas-Perry) were shooting the ball well on Sunday, but it didn't seem to matter because of the way they commanded the glass."
The inside areas on the floor are not as nice as some people might think. Both Roehrig and Shimek said things that are done in the low post are not the nicest.
Both players said that the worst thing ever done to them is that they got undercut while going up for a rebound. Shimek also said that she has received numerous elbows to the neck while fighting for position.
"A rebound for us is taking a chance away from our opponent to score and giving us a chance to score," Shimek said. "It gives us second and third chances if we can pull down offensive rebounds, and that is why we focus on it so much."
While both girls said nasty things are done to them, they were not too giving about their own secrets for getting good positioning.
"I don't do anything mean in the posts," Roehrig said. "Even if I did, I can't share my secrets to success."
On Sunday, the Spartans will continue a short homestand against an Illinois team that they beat earlier in the year.
"Our girls know that if one part of their game is not going the way they want it to, then they have to step it up in another aspect of their game," McCallie said. "Our girls have done that all year, and I don't see it changing anytime soon."
The Spartans play Illinois at 2 p.m. at Breslin Center and will be aired on Comcast local. The game can also be heard on WVFN - 730 AM.
