IU falls short to opponents on glass

Being a small, athletic team can be a disadvantage in certain categories in a given night – rebounding, in particular.

In its past three games, IU has been out-rebounded 145-102.

This theme continued as IU got beat on the boards 39-29 by a much taller Florida State team in their 82-74 loss Thursday.

In their last four contests, IU has a 1-3 record and has been out-rebounded in every game by at least 10 boards.

Including Thursday’s contest, the Hoosiers have been beaten 184-131 on the glass in that stretch.

Part of IU’s disadvantage on the boards is the fact that their tallest player is only 6-foot-3 in sophomore forward Sasha Chaplin.

As IU’s sole presence on the board Thursday night, Chaplin had 10 of the Hoosiers season-low 29 rebounds.

She said afterward she takes it upon herself to get as many boards as she can.
“I know being the post down there I have to step up and get rebounds,” Chaplin said.


On the flip side, Florida State’s 39 rebounds help propel them to their victory in the Big Ten/Atlantic Coast Conference Challenge.

Florida State coach Sue Semrau said having 6-foot-4 center Cierra Bravard created room for others to rebound the ball effectively.

“Even though she doesn’t get a lot of boards Sierra creates space for our guards to go in and get the basketball off the boards,” she said.

Rebounding will not get any easier in IU’s next game when they must take on Michigan State’s 6-foot-9-inch center Allyssa DeHaan when they open Big Ten play Sunday.

IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said, moving forward, the Hoosiers will try to leap higher than opponents given their size disadvantage this year.

“Our young ladies really feel we can out-jump (teams),” Legette-Jack said. “This is something we have hope to do, but the height is not here yet.”