A night of milestones, toughness, resiliency ends Purdue women's basketball's losing streak
The Boilermakers responded in overtime after a 13-point fourth-quarter lead disappeared.
Three things to know about Monday’s much-needed victory, an overtime thriller over Illinois to secure the program’s 500th all-time win at Mackey Arena:
“IT FEELS GOOD TO WIN”
New month. New result.
Maybe putting January and the seven-game losing streak in the rearview mirror is all the Boilermakers needed. It’s not that simple, and Purdue made it more difficult by allowing a 13-point lead to vanish at the end of regulation before winning in overtime.
But the adversity forced the Boilermakers to dig deep and find a way to enjoy a victory for the first time since Jan. 2. They overcame 2 of 16 shooting in the fourth quarter, the Illini’s numerous offensive rebounds, and bounced back following a crucial turnover that led to a tie game, capping a 16-3 run in the final five minutes for Illinois.
“Guys, it feels good to win,” Purdue coach Katie Gearlds said before a question was asked in the postgame press conference.
The third-year coach continued.
“January was tough, but I’ll tell you what, our group, they never wavered,” she added. “They came to practice every day, and they worked, and they believed in what we were telling them.”
“Every timeout, no deer in the headlights, chins were up, no pouty faces and everybody was bought in to make sure Purdue had more points than Illinois.”
The postgame scene in the locker room resembled the three-game winning streak against Indiana State, Wisconsin, and Rutgers before tough times hit.
“It feels amazing,” senior Jeanae Terry said. “I wish we would’ve got it done in four quarters and not have to go to overtime but it feels amazing. We were all in there laughing and getting that feeling back. We’re feeling great.”
Freshman Mary Ashley Stevenson drives against Illinois (Dave Wegiel Photography)
MATURITY AND TOUGHNESS
Mary Ashely Stevenson’s nose was broken in two places, and the freshman pours in a season-best 25 points, pulls down nine rebounds, and hits nine straight free throws to help the Boilermakers halt the losing skid.
Is Stevenson sure fixing the nose won’t disrupt her current mojo?
“I’m definitely sure I want to get my nose fixed,” said Stevenson, whose procedure was scheduled for 7:15 Tuesday morning.
The protective mask, however, will remain for the rest of the season.
What transpired Monday night was bound to happen before her freshman season ended. Maybe not during this particular game but Stevenson had positioned herself for a breakout performance since stepping on the floor against UCLA in the season opener.
Her progress hasn’t been a straight line, enduring uneven performances and dealing with inconsistencies, typical of a freshman. There’s a lot more room to grow and improve, not only this season but the next three years.
She’s mature. She’s tough. And she’s the foundation for what’s going to happen in the future.
“Purdue is in for a very special ride with No. 20 for the next three years,” coach Katie Gearlds said, referring to Stevenson’s number.
Video courtesy of Purdue Athletics
She suffered the broken nose against Ohio State on Jan. 28, played with a mask in the loss to Nebraska last week, and wasn’t comfortable, picking up early fouls and never finding a rhythm.
Stevenson was examined by a specialist last Thursday which revealed the diagnosis, and she was fitted for a custom mask. She didn’t take the news well, sitting in Gearlds’ office for an hour following her appointment.
The conversation took Gearlds back to her talks with former Purdue coach Kristy Curry in the car during her freshman season. Gearlds said Stevenson was “mentally overwhelmed a little bit,” and reached the conclusion of not playing Monday night.
“I left that night and called my staff, ‘MA is not going to play Monday. Game plan wise let’s start thinking about who we start and what does that change for us,’ ” Gearlds said.
The next morning Gearlds woke up to a text from Stevenson.
“I’m playing,” the text said. “ ‘I thought about this. I talked about it with my parents. I’m not letting my team down.’ ”
She totaled 17 of her points in the second half and overtime and made all nine free throw attempts during the same stretch. But Stevenson was haunted by a turnover at the end of regulation that allowed the Fighting Illini to tie the score at 64.
In overtime, her layup and pair of free throws wrestled the lead back in Purdue’s favor, and the last two free throws stretched the advantage to the final margin with six seconds on the clock, eliminating the Illini’s chances of winning.
“My thought process was, I made the turnover that sent us into overtime, so if I did not make these two free throws, it’s not going to go well for me,” Stevenson said. “My parents have been telling me for as long as I can remember, practice free throws so when you’re in that moment, you knock them down. I just had to go back to that. I practiced, I prepared for that, and I was ready to knock them down.”
Jeanae Terry nearly recorded another triple-double Monday (Dave Wegiel Photography)
MILESTONE NIGHT
Terry needed 10 assists to reach the 500 mark as a Boilermaker, but it wasn’t certain it would happen Monday night. But with 59 seconds left in the third quarter, Terry reached the magic number.
She finished with a career-best 14 and added nine and nine rebounds, just missing another triple-double. The 14 assists are tied for the second-most in program history.
“It means everything to me,” Terry said. “When I came here, I knew the role that I had, and being able to know my teammates and what they like has pushed me to get this milestone. I couldn’t do it without them, and 500 goes to every last teammate I’ve ever had to play here.”
Her three assists in overtime pushed Purdue over the top.
Video courtesy of Purdue Athletics
She found Madison Layden on a baseline backdoor cut for a layup giving the Boilermakers the lead for good at 70-69 with 1:36 to play. Terry set up Caitlyn Harper for a 3-pointer – and a bit of a dagger – with 49 seconds on the clock, pushing the advantage to 73-68.
And Terry played all 45 minutes, the second straight home game she didn’t leave the floor.
“Jeanae was really good,” Gearlds said. “The backdoor cut to Madison when we were down by one in overtime was good. We made one little adjustment that the extra pass was going to Caitlyn in the corner.”
BOX SCORE: Purdue 77, Illinois 72 (OT)
Layden and Harper combined for 30 points.
Terry’s 14 assists led to 32 points, including four 3-pointers. Two of those assists went to Layden during a third-quarter eight-point heater that maintained Purdue’s lead when the Illini were edging closer.
But Terry was on her own type of heater.
“She started the game firing off those passes that even surprised me,” Stevenson said. “Her assists were insane, and she played a really great game.”
Always thought Mary Ashley had a bright future from early in the season. Needs to finish strong and add some muscle in the offeason without disrupting her offensive skills. From Monday night, Madison and Abbey Ellis had a handful of 3s that went in and bounced out or rolled around the rim. They were good shots. It remains and make or miss game at all levels.
Mary Ashley is showing shades of Chris Kramer with her toughness and drive to win. It's going to be great watching her play over the next few years.
Hopefully Madison Layden can break out of her three point slump. 17.6% over the last three games is a brutal slump for someone hitting 44% on the season. If Purdue has any hope of competing in Assembly Hall, Madison needs to hit those outside shots.