Entering the 2014 season, there was no question size would be a problem for the IU women’s basketball team.
After shooitng their way to a 10-1 non-conference record, the Hoosiers saw on Sunday just how big a factor that would become in conference play.
In the Big Ten opener, they were out-rebounded by Rutgers 45-33 and IU scored just 16 of its 51 points in the paint. They couldn’t get anything going inside on the offensive end, as IU’s two starting forwards combined for 15 points and eight rebounds.
And that was just the first test.
IU will see a lot of the same against No. 24 Michigan State when the Hoosiers host the Spartans at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Assembly Hall.
The last time IU beat Michigan State was during the 2009 season. Since then, the Spartans have won eight-straight, including a 20-point win last year in East Lansing that clinched the Big Ten regular-season title.
After struggling to matchup with a bigger, stronger Rutgers team, IU Coach Teri Moren said she hopes to continue to build a well-balanced team full of athleticism and shooters.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love my team, but we need to add some pieces that will match up better with what they had out there,” Moren said on Sunday. “We were clearly the more undersized team.”
For now, the Hoosiers will have to get used to playing bigger than they are. Michigan State has out-rebounded every one of its opponents this season. The Spartans lead the Big Ten in rebounds per game (46.7) and rebounding margin (+11.8).
With a guard-heavy team, someone Moren has turned to as another option at forward is sophomore Alexis Gassion. Though she’s listed as a 5-foot-10 guard, Gassion played at the four position against Rutgers, collecting five points and five rebounds.
Not only does Gassion's versatility give IU more options on offense, it's causes havoc on the defensive end for opponents.
Moren said she’s now trying to get the sophomore to become more aggressive getting to the basket and to the free throw line.
“Right now, she’s giving us some great minutes at the four,” Moren said. “She’s a hard matchup for opposing teams when they have to have their true four players play her because she’s a guard.”
In addition to keeping the rebounding battle close, IU will look to contain Michigan State duo Aerial Powers and Tori Jankoska. Powers is averaging a double-double, with 18.6 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, while Jankoska is scoring 18.3 points per game.
The Spartans are coached by Suzy Merchant, who is 171-76 in eight years at Michigan State.
Merchant is just one of several prominent coaches in women’s basketball coming from the Big Ten. Hall of Fame Coach C. Vivian Stringer, who IU faced Sunday and who has spent the past 20 seasons rebuilding the Rutgers program, was at Iowa in the 80’s and 90’s doing the same with a program that was at the bottom of the Big Ten at the time.
Back then, Moren witnessed Stringer's success as a player at Purdue. Now a first-time Big Ten coach, she’s facing coaches she considers some of the best in the country.
“We have to understand that as we go in the Big Ten, there are tremendous coaches in this league,” Moren said. “Everybody scouts and has tremendous preparation for each other. We’re going to have to have counters to some of the things we do offensively. Great defensive teams take away some of the things that we like to do.”
