Indiana State is preparing for battle as the Sycamores head to Coralville, Iowa, for the Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball tournament.
Entering as the No. 9 seed, ISU will clash with No. 8 Southern Illinois at 4:30 p.m. EST Thursday inside Xtream Arena. The winner will get No. 1 Murray State at 1 p.m. Friday.
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The Sycamores went 9-21 overall and 5-15 in MVC play this season. They dropped an 86-74 decision at SIU on Jan. 22, then defeated the Salukis in Hulman Center 81-73 on Feb. 21.
Tierney Kelsey leads ISU with a 14.3-points-per-game average and Clemisha Prackett is next at 11 ppg. Prackett also has been a double-double machine for ISU, averaging eight rebounds per outing.
“I think Clemisha Prackett was probably the best player coming off the bench in the conference,” Indiana State coach Marc Mitchell said. “Tierney Kelsey is right there with her, but Tierney got some starts this year.”
He said they’re really happy with their production, but that they have to get everyone on the same page, including the starters, in order to defend and rebound the basketball so they can have a shot at winning the tournament.
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SIU (10-19, 7-13) is led by Alayna Kraus, who averages 15.5 ppg, while Indya Green leads the Salukis in rebounds with 8.9 per contest.
Mitchell said SIU is an athletic team — from players one through five.
“They have good post play, good guard play, they make open shots, so we’re going to have to be really on point,” Mitchell emphasized.
He elaborated by saying they’re going to compete hard for the entire 40 minutes they play Thursday night.
“I want us to compete no matter what happens, no matter who’s officiating, no matter if it’s cold in the gym, if it’s hot, whatever the situation is, I just want us to go out and compete,” Mitchell said.
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Excitement radiated from Mitchell as he said this is the best time of year as a college basketball coach.
“March, postseason, there’s nothing better than this,” Mitchell mentioned.
“That’s how I see it. That’s how I feel and I just want to go out and compete.”
For SIU, coach Kelly Bond-White said one of the biggest keys to defeating Indiana State is sharing the ball.
“When it gets stuck, we know that they’re going to collapse on Indy [Indya] and she has to give it up and reposition,” Bond-White said. “We’ll move her around a little bit more just to get her to where that double-team doesn’t come quick enough.”
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She said another key is tempo and pace because when they can get some primary and secondary action, they can put some points on the board and that’s important.
“Then boxing out, limiting them to one shot, keeping 14 [Prackett] off the boards for them,” Bond-White stressed.
“That’s important because not only does it limit them to one shot, but it allows us to get out and run as well.”
She said they have to be aggressive and attack as well and noted how they were able to get 45 free throws in the victory at home over ISU. Of those 45, the Salukis capitalized on 26 of them.
Other games Thursday:
• No. 7 UIC vs. No. 10 Evansville 7 p.m. EST — This could be a good one as the Purple Aces fell hard in the first matchup but made it close in the second as they only lost by three.
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• No. 6 Drake vs. No. 11 Valparaiso 9:30 p.m. EST — This season’s Valpo team has not found its groove yet as the Beacons didn’t win a single MVC contest or even a single game all season as they finished 0-31 overall and 0-20 in MVC play. So this is their last chance to find a positive mark this season. The winner will face No. 3 Illinois State at 9:30 p.m. Friday.
