Hoosiers set for battle with South Dakota State

When the IU women’s basketball team enters South Dakota State’s Frost Arena tonight, a different type of crowd awaits them.\nNearly one-third the population of Brookings, S.D. will be in attendance when the Hoosiers (19-13) play in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,000 in the quarterfinal of the WNIT. On Monday, the Hoosiers advanced out of the second round of the tournament with a last minute 74-71 win against Iona. Tonight they will take on South Dakota State (24-5) for the first time in IU history, competing against a team that has won its last 13 games.\nFollowing the victory over Iona, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack spoke about the sense of urgency her team played with Monday night. If the Hoosiers keep playing in such a way, she said she believes her team can go very far in the tournament.\n“This team doesn’t know how to surrender,” Legette-Jack said following the Iona victory. “We have fought, and we have faced adversity, and we have fought through that adversity. We play with such freedom and ability to just go out there and have fun with this game of basketball, so we’re excited.”\nWhile the Hoosiers improved their WNIT home record to 4-0, the team is only 2-3 on the road in the tournament. South Dakota State is also averaging five more points per game than the Hoosiers this year (72 to 67, respectively).\nSouth Dakota State is fresh off its 61-48 win against Illinois State in the second round of the WNIT. Though the Jackrabbits did not shoot particularly well against ISU, they still found a way to win their seventh straight home game, led by senior forward Megan Vogel. Vogel scored 23 points to lead all scorers in the contest and averaged 17.6 points over the season, shooting 52 percent from the field along the way.\nBut, IU will look to counter the difference with a favorable height matchup in the low post with senior center Sarah McKay.\nHaving a breakout year, McKay is second in scoring for the Hoosiers with 11.8 points per game and was named to the All-Big Ten third team by the conference’s coaches. The senior center is also averaging nearly six rebounds and two blocks a game this year. McKay scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds against Iona. \nIn order for the Hoosiers to come out with a victory, McKay can’t be the team’s lone force of production. All season long, Legette-Jack talked about how her team is one that takes open shots, one that doesn’t have a “go-to” player. Instead, the Hoosiers will look to settle for a game that produces multiple players in double figures and where the all players hustle collectively on the defensive end of the floor.\n“Coach always talks about passion and it’s just the will to play one more day,” said junior guard Nikki Smith. “We don’t want to have the year end yet. We just need to go out there and play as hard as we can. It’s just us running the floor and running Indiana basketball.”