Hoosiers face Michigan State to start crucial 2-game homestand

The IU women’s basketball team (14-10, 7-5) begins a crucial two-game home stand tonight when it faces Michigan State (14-11, 6-7) at Assembly Hall.\nAt 7-5 in the Big Ten, IU is in fifth place in the conference. The Hoosiers will look for a win against Michigan State and against Michigan on Sunday to boost their conference record and increase their NCAA tournament chances. \nDespite the big weekend coming up, junior guard Kim Roberson said the Hoosiers are not placing too much emphasis on the games. \n“As a player, you just have to take each game the same way,” she said. “If you don’t then you get too high or too low. If you look at every game by itself and prepare the same way for each game then hopefully you’ll come out on top.”\nThe Hoosiers topped Michigan State 70-56 earlier this season in East Lansing on Jan. 20. But with the season winding down and the postseason tournaments approaching, Roberson said she expects a tougher game against the Spartans. \n“It’s a different part of the season,” she said. “It’s later, everyone is getting better and we expect their best game. Everybody is trying to get to the tournament. We expect nothing less than their best.”\nMichigan State is led by 6-foot-9 center Allyssa DeHaan, who averages 14.8 points per game and 7.8 rebounds. DeHaan recorded a double-double in the Jan. 20 game scoring 15 points and adding 11 rebounds. \nIU hopes to rebound from a disappointing 73-62 road loss to Illinois last Sunday. IU’s shooting woes put the team in too poor of a position to make a comeback, even though the Hoosiers forced 18 turnovers, including seven steals.\nThe Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in steals at 9.46 per game and hope their defense will lead them to victory on Thursday.\n“It’s a great category to lead, but we just want to play great defense,” Roberson said. “If we get the ball on a steal it’s just a reward for playing great defense.”\nRoberson has been a force on the defensive end all year and is second in the conference in steals at 2.67 per game. She said the Hoosiers look for their defense to jump start their offense.\n“I take pride in pressuring (the ball-handler) and hopefully raising the intensity so that we can get the ball back and score,” she said. “Scoring is what they keep track of.”\nThe Hoosiers had four players in double figures in the Jan. 20 game against Michigan State, including junior forward Amber Jackson and sophomore guard Jamie Braun, who scored 21 and 18 points respectively. \nFour IU players also average double figure scoring for the season, with Braun leading the way at 15.2 points per game. Junior forward Whitney Thomas averages 12.4 per game and Jackson adds 12.2 per game. Roberson is also averaging 10.8 points per game.\nHeading into the stretch, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she is proud of how her team is coming together. On her radio show Monday night, Legette-Jack said her team is starting to reveal its character late in the season.\n“This young team is growing up right before my eyes,” she said.