Sometimes the most important players on a basketball team are the ones that put the ball in the basket, sometimes they don’t even have the ball in their hands.

The box score at the end of the game can tell you a lot about how the game went and to a casual observer, probably all you care to know. However, sometimes it’s the things that can’t be found on a stat sheet that mean the most to a team’s success.

Dana Channel only averages 2.9 points per game on 26 percent shooting but it’s the little things that make it hard for coaches to take her out of the game. 

“I just try to relax and play, know what the other team does, defend, and rebound,” said Channel.

While that sounds simple, there is much more to being a good basketball player than just relaxing and playing. Knowing what the other team does on a regular basis comes from hours of film study and a willingness to work and listen during practice. Defending isn’t glorious, but someone has to do it. Often times you can find Channel covering the other team’s top scorer, regardless of their position. 

One of the few things that can be quantified is her rebounding. While working hard to box out and get position under the boards may not grab most fans attention, it’s a coach’s dream. Grabbing a defensive rebound is the final step in playing good defense, and making sure the other team doesn’t get an easy second-chance opportunity. 

“I take the most pride in my rebounding,” Channel said. “Washburn has always been a good rebounding team and Mac really emphasizes that and gets on us if we aren’t going to the boards hard.”

On the other end of the floor she isn’t a prolific scorer by any means, but she contributes when given the opportunity. She is shooting 86 percent from the free throw line. It’s clear that she knows her role and does her best to play it as she has taken fewer than half as many shots as the next lowest starter, and just the eighth most on the team.

At 10-5 the Bods are off to a solid start, but Channel thinks that better things are on the horizon for their young team.

“I think we are finally getting organized, executing, and playing like we know how to,” Channel said. “We struggled at first, but we are getting better each game. I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball yet, so I hope to win the conference tournament and go as far as we can in the NCAA tournament.”