Rebounding is essential in basketball. Teams need it to get the ball back after a possession on defense or produce second-chance points on offense.
“Rebounding, to me, is desire, and it’s hustle, and it’s heart,” Indiana women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren said Sunday. “It’s all of those.”
But against Eastern Michigan University on Sunday, Indiana didn’t have any “desire,” “hustle” or “heart” when it came to rebounding. Yes, the Hoosiers defeated another nonconference opponent, picked up their 10th win of the season and stayed undefeated at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
However, the 74-67 win over Eastern Michigan was a lot closer than expected, due in part to Indiana’s ability — or lack thereof — to haul in rebounds on both ends of the floor. The Hoosiers finished Sunday’s contest with 31 rebounds, eight less than the Eagles’ 39 rebounds.
Getting outrebounded has been a trend for Indiana in the past three games. Against Illinois on Dec. 6, the Hoosiers lost the rebounding battle by nine — 39 to 30. Versus the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Thursday, they lost by four — 37 to 33.
“It’s like hope is not a strategy,” Moren said. “You can’t hope the ball comes to you. You got to go do your work and make sure you’re making that contact ... so we’re guilty of just kind of watching.”
However, Indiana outrebounded by eight on Sunday. Despite the score ending in a win for the Hoosiers, giving up 39 rebounds — with 11 coming on the offensive end — kept Eastern Michigan in the game for longer than the Eagles should have been.
Indiana had chances to extend its lead, but Eastern Michigan fought back multiple times. A buzzer-beater 3-pointer to close out the first quarter, a 6-0 run to tie the game in the second quarter, four unanswered points and stifling defense to end the third to make it a 52-52 game.
Indiana’s only sustained lead was an 8-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter, with all its points coming from redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont. That run gave the Hoosiers their largest point differential of 10 points, where Indiana had a 68-58 advantage with 3:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers held on for the win, but winning gets a lot harder when a team loses the rebounding battle. It also doesn’t help when one opposing player finishes with 18 rebounds.
Eastern Michigan senior forward Sisi Eleko was that opposing player. She finished Sunday’s contest with 15 on the defensive end and three on the offensive end. However, Eleko couldn’t capitalize on the offensive boards, as she finished with only one second-chance point.
“We needed to hit bodies before we could turn and box,” Indiana senior guard Shay Ciezki said postgame. “But (Eleko’s) a heck of a player, great rebounder, so kudos to her.”
Along with Eleko, senior guard Ainhoa Cea was all over the court grabbing rebounds for the Eagles. Even with her height only being listed at 5-foot-6, she finished the contest with 10 rebounds — a season-high amount.
The pair accounted for 28 out of Eastern Michigan’s 39 total rebounds, but the lack of size was evident for Indiana. The Hoosiers were missing sophomore forwards Zania Socka-Nguemen and Faith Wiseman, plus sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova. The trio stands at 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 and 6 feet tall, respectively.
In their place, the 6-foot-3 trio of junior forwards Edessa Noyan and Jade Ondineme, and even freshman forward Maya Makalusky needed to step up. They had 11 rebounds combined, with Makalusky pacing the way for Indiana’s roster with six.
“We need her to really come in and be gritty and tough and nasty,” Moren said. “Chasing down that 50/50 ball, the rebound, we need her to do more of that.”
Makalusky also pulled down six boards against Illinois and Gonzaga University on Nov. 28, but three for Noyan and two for Ondineme were underwhelming numbers. One reason is the Hoosiers’ positioning.
“You're not going to get very many rebounds if you're inside that halo,” Moren said. “There's not a rebound that's going to come off right, right underneath the basket.”
Although every single Indiana player who saw action recorded a rebound, the Hoosiers only combined for six offensive rebounds. However, Indiana finished with six second-chance points to the Eagles’ eight — even though the Hoosiers had five fewer second-chance opportunities for Eastern Michigan.
There’s a positive in that statistic. When given a second chance, the Hoosiers were more clinical than their opponents. And at the defensive end of the floor, Indiana stopped most of Eastern Michigan’s second chances.
But giving up offensive boards will hurt the Hoosiers against better competition — just look at Illinois for example. The second-best opponent Indiana has played this season beat the Hoosiers by 21 points, and rebounds were a factor in that game.
Now, with only one nonconference game remaining on Indiana’s schedule — Dec. 21 against Western Carolina University — the Hoosiers need to go back to the drawing board for their plan on the glass.
“We do a rebounding drill every day,” Moren said. “Today, we didn't do a very good job, but those are things that are constant every day in our practice. So, we got to continue, though, to grow and get better.”
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Max Schneider (maxschn@iu.edu) and columnist Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
