Freshman forward Kalisha Keane goes for a layup against Illinois Thursday night at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill. The Spartans defeated the Illini 65-62.
The MSU women’s basketball team will face Michigan for the second time this season with hopes of avenging a 64-55 loss nearly three weeks ago.
With U-M leading the Big Ten in made 3-pointers, MSU head coach Suzy Merchant is looking to guard the perimeter, especially after the two teams’ last meeting in which the Wolverines went 12-for-29 from beyond the arc.
“We’ve been talking about different things that we’re going to try to do a better job of to combat (U-M’s 3-point shooting),” Merchant said. “But we certainly understand that at some point, no matter what we do and how we do it, that it is going to be a big part of their game plan … so we’re going to have to be able to defend it better than we did the first time.”
Wolverines guard Jessica Minnfield will be the player to watch from 3-point range, as she leads the conference at 44 percent from beyond the arc, while teammate Carly Benson, a forward, sits eighth at 33 percent.
Freshman forward Kalisha Keane was assigned to guard Benson last time out but got into foul trouble and played only 17 minutes, which Merchant said really hurt the team for that game.
Benson had a career game against the Spartans, scoring 23 points.
Merchant said it is vital that Keane stay out of foul trouble tonight.
She has averaged 3.8 fouls since the two teams last met, fouling out against Minnesota on Saturday and Indiana on Jan. 20. Merchant has expressed her frustration with her team’s inconsistent play and lack of focus for the full 40 minutes, and she said she hopes it all comes together before tonight’s game.
“I feel the frustrating piece is the inconsistency that you get in performance and I mean that on both sides of the ball,” Merchant said.
“It isn’t just about putting the ball in the basket. I think when you have inconsistent performers defensively, what it has caused us to do is play other people.”
Merchant said she hasn’t settled on a solid rotation, which is something most other teams have done at this point.
Adding to the weekend
Merchant said she hopes to end tonight’s game victorious to add to wins by both the hockey team and men’s basketball team against U-M. She said she knows it is a big rivalry and wants to put the nail in the Maize and Blue coffin tonight.
“Anytime you play someone and don’t play your best basketball, you really want to do a better job and obviously protect home (court) as well,” Merchant said. “We obviously have to do a better job at getting fired up and genuinely focused for our game.
“All the fans we have and the atmosphere that we create, compared to other teams, (is phenomenal) and we really need to revel in that and use the fans as added excitement to generate some ourselves.”
The Spartans tip off at 7 p.m. tonight at Breslin Center.
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