It's been an important few weeks in the development of freshman center Allyssa DeHaan.

First, she had the task on Dec. 16 of going up against LSU center Sylvia Fowles, who was a third-team Associated Press All-American last season. DeHaan had 10 points and 11 rebounds, a respectable showing. Fowles, though, scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Then came last Saturday's bout with Maryland in which DeHaan had the unenviable task of matching up with Terrapins center Crystal Langhorne, a second-team Associated Press All-American last season.

This time around, things didn't go as well for DeHaan. Langhorne showed why she's one of the best players in the country, scoring 28 points with nine rebounds. DeHaan was quiet offensively, scoring four points with four rebounds and five blocks.

When the team came back for an early film session Sunday morning, DeHaan was one of the most attentive players there.

"What I loved about her in the film review was that the look on her face was one of motivation and anger at herself," MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "There wasn't a despondent look, a weepy, poor me. She's learning that she can't rely on her height. She's got to play defense with her feet, and she's got to complete the play."

But is DeHaan a better player because of it? You bet.

"I got to play against some great post players," she said. "That was just great for me. It taught me a lot about how aggressive they are all the time. Every time they want the ball, they go after it. They are very demanding of the ball. It just taught me to be quick and aggressive, so hopefully I'll learn from that and incorporate that into my game."

Still, for DeHaan, it's that aggressiveness that tells the story about her play, and she admits it's something she needs to work on.

"I need to demand the ball offensively and go after every board and blocked shot and just be aggressive overall," she said.

McCallie sees the same thing.

"Allyssa is going to be very, very good, and she has to know that it's an everyday commitment," McCallie said. "She's got to get meaner and tougher. Don't get me wrong — she doesn't have to swear on the floor or do anything like that. She doesn't have to chest-bump people, because that's not really her style, but she has to demand and she has to get aggressive."

And her teammates don't think the expectations are too high.

"If we don't set high expectations for her, then she won't get as good as she needs to be," sophomore forward Aisha Jefferson said. "We want her to be the best she can be right now. We want her to be the freshman of the year."

DeHaan is second on the team with 12.2 points per game and leads the team with 8.9 rebounds per contest. Through last weekend's games, she leads the nation with 4.8 blocks per game and is shooting nearly 54 percent. She was named the Big Ten Player of the Week in early December.

"Obviously, there's always room for improvement," she said. "I've got a long way to go, and I'm just trying to get there and trying to improve every day."