By Craig Pearson
Five days after a season-opening 37-point performance, Indiana State senior Kelsey Luna leads her Sycamores into the state of South Carolina to battle for two more road victories.
Luna expects the Sycamores to re-create the energy they had in building an 18-point lead on Kansas State’s home floor during Saturday’s opener.
ISU plays today at Furman and Saturday at South Carolina-Upstate with the opportunity for coach Jim Wiedie to become the program’s all-time leader in wins. He is currently tied with Edie Godleski at 156 victories. Wiedie reached the mark in eight fewer games. Luna, who made 15 of her 21 shot attempts against Kansas State, credited her teammates for opening up lanes.
“I had some drives to the basket and some mid-range looks. Most of it comes from good screens from the post players. They set really good screens and my defender kept getting hung up so I’ve got to give them credit for that,” Luna said after practice earlier this week in Hulman Center.
The 5-foot-5 senior who is known for her 3-point shooting accuracy said she’s worked hard to improve in other areas.
“I’ve been able to work on my mid-range and try to be more aggressive off the dribble. That’s kind of been a goal of mine for quite a while,” Luna said. “After that [knee] injury set me back [last season], I got more time and a better opportunity to work on it.”
Indiana State assistant coach Melanie Boeglin said Luna may have to carry the team at times.
“It just shows what she’s capable of doing when she puts this team on her shoulders. As a senior leader, there’s times when she’s going to have to do that,” Boeglin said. “It was nice from a coaching perspective to see her do that.”
Luna’s performance ranked third all-time in the program’s history. Boeglin scored 45 in a double-overtime game at Drake in 2006.
“Hands down, the best individual performance I’ve ever seen as far as someone taking over a basketball game. A lot of that goes to her teammates for setting good screens as well,” Boeglin said.
Kansas State also lost to Arkansas State following the Wildcats’ loss to the Sycamores.
And Indiana State was not the only potential contender in the Missouri Valley Conference to pick up a quality victory to open the season. Illinois State defeated UCLA before losing to No. 15 Iowa 75-67 in the Hawkeye Challenge.
In other words, this young Sycamores team must be focused on improving, and the coaching staff expressed its displeasure with the effort in practice this week.
“We need to get a mindset to where we’re warrior athletes and giving 100 percent every day,” Luna said.
“The team realizes what they need to do on a day-to-day basis,” Boeglin said. “We’re moving forward with that perspective. This is a young team, and they’ll get there eventually.”
Today’s opponent, Furman, is off to an 0-2 start but the losses came on the road to Cincinnati (85-46) and Clemson (68-48). Furman was picked to finish eighth in the Southern Conference.
“You always have to go in with the mindset that we’re going to compete to the best of our ability. No matter who the opponent is, you can’t think you can maybe slack off a little bit,” said Luna. “The first game definitely sets the tone for the rest of the season maybe even put a bullseye on our back. But hopefully with our girls, we can pull through and do the things we did at K-State.”
ISU at Furman
Tipoff — 7 p.m. today at Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.
Broadcasts — TV: None. Radio: WSDM-FM 92.7. Internet: gosycamores.com or furmanpaladins.com.
Series — First meeting.
The players
Indiana State Sycamores (1-0) — G Kelsey Luna (5-5, Sr., 37.0 ppg), G Brittany Schoen (5-6, So., 0.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg), G Deja Mattox (6-0, So., 11.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg), F Kelsie Cooley (6-1, Jr., 12.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg), C Shannon Thomas (6-4, So., 7.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.0 bpg), G Taylor Whitley (5-9, Fr., 6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.0 spg), G/F Chelsea Buher (6-0, So., 4.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg).
Coach — Jim Wiedie (156-108 in 10th season at ISU)
Furman Paladins (0-2) — G Kendra Berry (5-8, Jr., 4.5 ppg), G Raegan Thompson (5-10, Fr., 6.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg), G/F Kali Holtfreter (5-11, Sr., 6.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg), C Mollie Peterson (6-4, Sr., 1.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg), G Candace Cowell (5-7, So., 1.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg), G Kaitlin Murphy (5-6, Fr., 11.0 ppg, 2.5 apg).
Coach — Sam Dixon (95-114 in 8th year at Furman)
Injuries — For ISU, C Andrea Rademacher (foot) is out; F/G Moriah Hodge (ankle) is questionable; Megan Burton (concussion symptoms) is out; and Meaghan MacDougall (leg) is out.
Keys to the game
• Get more players involved in the offense. If teams find a way to take Luna out of her flow, other players will need to step up.
• ISU held the Wildcats’ shooting in check in the opener, but the Sycamores have to continue to make strides defensively. Shannon Thomas had four blocks in the first game, and could play a big role on this road trip.
Tidbit — Moriah Hodge is questionable for this weekend after suffering an ankle sprain. She’s not expected to miss significant time.
Next game — ISU plays Saturday at the University of South Carolina-Upstate.
— Craig Pearson
