Oklahoma State basketball: Lindsey Keller does Cowgirls' dirty work

There's no record of that vicious screen in the final box score, but it helped free up teammate Liz Donohoe to drive to the basket for an and-1 layup.

And that's a perfect example of what Keller brings to a 12th-ranked Oklahoma State squad that will take on Kansas State Wednesday night in Manhattan.

Keller's stats — 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game — don't exactly pop off the page. But the senior center's physicality on both ends of the floor — often while matching up against players bigger than her 6-foot-2 frame — has been critical to the Cowgirls' 14-2 start and rise in the national rankings. And she's played the entire season with what she describes as a hyperextended left shoulder.

“A lot of things that she does are unheralded,” OSU coach Jim Littell said. “She sets great screens. She defends the toughest post (player) every night. There isn't a lot of glamour in what she does, because she does the dirty work a lot of times.”

Don't be fooled by Keller's feisty on-court demeanor, though. Her personality off the floor is quite the opposite. She's the type that enjoys scrapbooking in her spare time and is happy to just sit quietly with a teammate having a bad day.

“She's tough and she looks mean on the court, but she is the nicest person and the most loyal person,” said Donohoe, Keller's roommate.

So how does Keller make that mental switch when she steps on the floor? It's pretty simple — she hates to lose.