Time to switch Sallee’s starters?

Don’t worry about Rachel Galligan.

The sophomore has been a rock on the both the defensive and offensive end of the floor for the Panthers this season.

Galligan can’t play much better than she has been. The 6-foot-2 forward is averaging 18 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. It is her teammates on the perimeter that need to improve their play.

Other than Galligan, each starter has been strong in one area but lacking in another.

Freshman Jessica Huffman has filled in admirably at point guard, leading the team with 18.2 ppg, but has struggled running the offense. The Whiteland, Ind., native has 106 turnovers this season compared to just 65 assists.

After Galligan and Huffman, no other player is averaging more than 10 ppg.

Senior captain Meggie Eck, while leading the team with 46 three-point field goals, is one-dimensional beyond her long-range shooting.

Eck is a hard worker and you can see her effort on the court, but her petite build is a defensive liability and she has been pushed around by bigger guards this season.

Sophomore Ellen Canale, who is supposed to do the pushing for the Panthers, has been strong on defense but has struggled on offense after missing both exhibition games and the first three games to start the season. Canale is averaging 4.2 ppg but is third on the team with 3.7 rebounds per game.

Freshman Ashley Thomas has also been inconsistent on offense, but has played well in big games, with a team-high 19 points on Dec. 29 at then No. 14 ranked Louisville.

It has been maddening for head coach Brady Sallee this season to see his team play so inconsistently because he feels the talent is there.

And I tend to agree with him.

But after another two-game road trip to Tennessee-Martin and Eastern Kentucky and two more losses tacked on to the team’s lengthy seven-game losing streak, maybe a change is in order.

Senior forward Amanda Maxedon has been the team’s spark off the bench and her 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game should have earned more playing time than the 15.4 minutes per game she currently gets. Lauren Sturtevant has 29 assists this season compared to 19 turnovers and is coming off one of her best games this season with eight points and five assists in Eastern’s 78-69 loss in Paducah, Ky.

Maxedon and Sturtevant have played well as reserves and perhaps Sallee wants to keep them in that role, but certainly a change wouldn’t hurt anything.

Would it?