Rebounding and getting steals are an art form, not a chore, to Mia Kalich.
And while the versatile Seton Hill basketball standout piles up both, she doesn’t exactly try to get double- and triple-doubles.
Call those an aside to effort. A player signing her work.
“I don’t think about stats,” Kalich said. “I just play my game, and it just happens.”
One of NCAA Division II’s top all-around players — she can play all five positions — Kalich has a stronghold on a conference award. She has won Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week three straight times.
Her PSAC popularity led to teammates calling her “Merch.”
“Because they said I am a defensive merchant,” Kalich said.
Humbly, she laughs at the moniker, then quickly resumes boxing out opponents in the paint.
When the ball goes up or comes loose, Kalich usually pulls it down or grabs it like she owns it.
She is averaging 13.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 4.4 steals a game for the red-hot Griffins (12-2, 8-0), who took an 11-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game at No. 5 Gannon.
“It’s nice to be recognized,” Kalich said. “But it’s not something I try to do.”
Kalich is a engineering/mathematics major.
“I love projects and creating things,” she said.
Such as stats on the court.
Kalich recently produced her second triple-double of the season — 16 points, 14 rebounds, 10 steals in a 112-96 win against Clarion — becoming the first Seton Hill player to do so since the Griffins joined the NCAA in 2013.
The 5-foot-11 Kalich has 23 double-doubles in 74 career games. She had 23 rebounds in a game last year — 19 is her high this season — and twice this year has produced 10 steals in wins.
“Rebounding is about getting position when the shot goes up and just being tough,” Kalich said. “You have to want the ball more.
“With our full-court press, a lot of times I am free and get my hands on passes.”
Her offensive contributions can seem overshadowed by her other attributes, but the Griffins appreciate her consistency and 64.6 field-goal percentage. She has scored in double figures in all but one game.
The junior forward is from Olstead Falls, Ohio, where she is the all-time leading rebounder at the high school of the same name. Yes, she roots for the Cleveland Browns and quietly against the Pittsburgh Steelers — “I wear my Browns shirts on (NFL) game days sometimes, but not all the time because there are a lot of Steelers fans,” she said — and she brings a quiet but cerebral demeanor to the court.
“She has that continuous skill and motor and shows up every day to work and do the right things,” Seton Hill coach Maeve Gallagher said. “She has an insane academic workload, but she is a 4.0 student. She is a hard worker. That’s all she does.”
Gallagher noticed Kalich’s modesty when she discovered her talent a few years ago on the recruiting trail.
“The only stat she ever asks me about after a game is turnovers,” Gallagher said. “How many turnovers did I have?
“Mia is always one step ahead. There were some growing pains, but her teammates have done a great job letting her morph into her role. She has freedom.”
While offensive players often get a green light to shoot, Kalich has one on defense. She is like a free safety in the Griffins press, a true help defender in the half-court.
“There aren’t a lot of rules with what we do,” Gallagher said. “Just guard rails. Mia can play without the guard rails and rules.”
Kalich is on target for another spot on the All-PSAC West first team and possibly greater hardware.
“Hopefully player of the year,” Gallagher said. “A lot of (voters) look at points … Mia does it all. She does the hard work. I love that about her.”
