There's no better way for a senior to end her college career than with an exceptional string of performances in her final postseason, and Liz Shimek is proving to be a prime example.
Between the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, the senior forward has been playing the best basketball of her career. Early in the season she was primarily an inside threat, but now Shimek is scoring from all over the court. Aside from her postgame, she's also taking defenders off the dribble, and stepping back behind the arc for 3-pointers.
Shimek's play has certainly impressed MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie.
"Liz is really starting to move and shake and do lots of things," McCallie said. "Liz is somebody who is playing in the moment, very free, and kind of bouncy. She's attacking and taking more threes, which we're thrilled with, and playing two different positions on our team."
The offensive statistics from Shimek's last four games are nearly jaw-dropping. She lit up Iowa in the Spartans' first game of the Big Ten Tournament, scoring a career-high 31 points on 14-16 shooting, despite only being on the floor for 27 minutes. She followed that outing with a 23-point effort against a much tougher Ohio State team, slicing through a defense that had previously held her to a season-low six points.
She rode the momentum right into the Big Dance, scoring 27 points on 10-16 shooting against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, then made several big plays down the stretch against Kentucky, including a wrap-around reverse layup that broke the Wildcats' backs.
Her combined statistics in those four games amount to 23 points per game, along with a shooting percentage of 61 percent.
Considering that her scoring average was 14.9 points per game in Big Ten conference games, the post-season difference is obvious.
Her teammates have taken notice of Shimek's play, though it hasn't come as a shock.
Lindsay Bowen, MSU's other senior leader, said Shimek is always improving her game.
"Nothing she does surprises me," Bowen said. "She's just a great all-around player, and tough."
Junior guard Victoria Lucas-Perry attributed Shimek's recent streak of high-scoring performances to her work ethic.
"I think that because she works so hard, she has so much potential for growth," Lucas-Perry said.
"No matter how good she's playing, there's always room for her to get better.
"It's either her offense steps up or her defense steps up, or her rebounding, and it makes a difference out there."
