Purdue women's basketball 78, Bellarmine 67: Players of note, questions and what's next
Despite being outscored 25-0 during one stretch, the Boilermakers improved to 3-1
The two days leading up to Monday’s matchup against Bellarmine were grueling defensive-minded practices designed to bring out the toughness of the Boilermakers.
Players were sore. Coach Katie Gearlds was sore, trying to demonstrate the proper fundamental approach to improving the team’s defensive mindset. Shooting drills? They came later once practice was over as players went out on their own to work on their offense.
About 35-45 minutes were spent on offense over the last two practices and Monday afternoon’s shootaround.
“A lot of defense. My groins were sore from just demonstrating what I wanted, so I can imagine what theirs felt like,” Gearlds said. “I told the staff in the locker room after the IU Indy game that there was a good chance we weren’t going to not shoot the basketball well on Monday. It's pretty much what happened.”
An element of toughness was required against the Knights, who trailed by 17 and proceeded to score 25 straight points during a nearly nine-minute stretch before Purdue regrouped to post a 78-67 victory at Mackey Arena.
Throughout the gigantic scoring spurt, Gearlds didn’t call a timeout. The media timeout in the third quarter was approaching, allowing Gearlds to wait. But she also wanted to see her team respond to a situation they haven’t faced this season.
“I think she wanted to see what we could do on our own,” senior Reagan Bass said. “More than that, we rely on her a lot, and she’s been pushing us a lot in practice. She wanted to see how much we’re willing to fight for her as well as for ourselves. I think that was a test to who we are.”
The Boilermakers passed this test. It was a gutty victory because Purdue had to overcome so much. Turnovers. Poor shooting from the 3-point line. Missed free throws.
The start of the game was excellent as the Boilermakers pushed the tempo, pounded the ball inside, and featured a high level of ball movement. That’s how you build a 17-point lead.
But they also demonstrated how to watch a big lead disappear. Unforced turnovers, passing up open shots to make one more pass that led to mistakes and lack of hustle plays. In the first half, Purdue wasn’t willing to dive on the floor for a loose ball, but the Knights were. In the second half, the Boilermakers spent more time on the floor and outworked Bellarmine.
“Honestly, this early in the season, test your team. What are you made of in the moment?” Gearlds said. “Can you come together in the moment? And I thought we did.”
On with the countdown
3 BOILERMAKERS OF NOTE
Reagan Bass: One of a handful of players who brought the Boilermakers out of their slump and back into the game. Her teammates found her inside on the block, or Bass drove to the rim from the free throw line and scored from either side. She made a significant impact and helped answer the Knights, who continued to battle until Purdue slowly pulled away. Bass had 10 of her 21 points in the second half and finished with 11 rebounds for a double double, one of two on the night for the Boilermakers (Lana McCarthy totaled 12 points, 11 rebounds). Bass made 8 of 11 shots and added a pair of blocked shots. She complements McCarthy and Kendall Puryear inside and helps settle things down when foul trouble emerges. The leadership from Bass is starting to show up each game, and that’s a good sign.
“In the third and the fourth, you could really see it there,” Bass said. “We honed in, and our start to the game was a lot better. Was a lot better than it has been as well.”
MORE: Chat Replay | Chad Krockover Photography | Mark Elsner Photography | Box score |
Rashunda Jones: The sophomore guard has been a little quiet early in the season, but when the Boilermakers needed a boost on Monday, Jones delivered down the stretch. She scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter – hitting all four field goal attempts – as Purdue pulled away with a 15-0 run. Jones worked on expanding her shooting to the 3-point line in the offseason but leaned on her experienced mid-range game to help derail the Knights. She scored in transition. In halfcourt sets. She made five consecutive baskets from the end of the third quarter until midway through the fourth as Purdue built a 70-63 lead with 5:29 to play.
“Maybe could have seen it a little bit more in the first half if I wasn't hacking,” Jones said, referring to her foul trouble. “I think just getting my team together, hitting the open shots and flashing to the open spaces.”
Kendall Puryear: She didn’t reach double figures, played just 14 minutes and other players posted more impressive numbers than the freshman. But Puryear probably had the play of the game. With the Boilermakers scoreless for nearly nine minutes, Puryear muscled in a layup, was fouled, and converted the three-point play with 4:47 left in the third quarter. It ended Bellarmine’s string of 25 straight points and cut the deficit to 47-42. The three-point play provided a significant spark to the Boilermakers, who needed something positive to happen on the offensive end.
“I was never really worried because I thought we were getting good shots,” Gearlds said. “It was just a matter of being a little bit tougher, being the first one to the floor for a loose ball. That's really what it was. But I thought KP really took the lid off the basket for us there in the third quarter.”
2 QUESTIONS
• Will the turnovers (22), missed free throws (8), and 25% 3-point shooting (5 of 20) linger into Sunday’s game?
• Can the Boilermakers keep up the rebounding numbers? They outrebounded the Knights by 16.
Courtesy: Purdue Athletics Communications
1 FINAL THOUGHT
How Purdue won Monday’s game could be a reference point throughout the season. The Boilermakers know they can battle back after giving up a big lead. The competition won’t be the same when the Big Ten season starts, but knowing it can happen is half the battle. There are plenty of lessons from inside this game. Numerous unforced turnovers, missed free throws, and lack of production from the 3-point line have spelled doom in the past for this program, but not Monday. Bass and Jones stepped up from an offensive standpoint in the second half to help pave the way for a win Purdue needed to get. The Boilermakers looked solid in the first part of the game, jumping to a double-digit lead and getting everyone involved in the offense. Improvement was made defensively, the purpose of those two practices over the weekend. Look for Gearlds to continue focusing on defense in practice to ensure her team doesn’t slip back into bad habits as the schedule toughens up over the next few weeks.
“I told our team, we're going to continue to practice that hard, and our bodies are going to adjust until we figure it out,” Gearlds said. “Until we can get better defensively, we've got to keep working on that. We haven't clicked well enough when we've just walked through things. Shoot around (Monday) was full speed. We guarded our guys full speed, and we’ll continue until it becomes automatic.”
WELCOME BACK
Former assistant coach Pam Stackhouse, who was on the staff when the Boilermakers won the 1999 national title, returned to Mackey Arena. Stackhouse is Chief Operating Officer and Senior Women’s Administrator at Bellarmine. Stackhouse spent seven years at Purdue as an assistant.
After watching us fall apart in the third, I feel a little bit better knowing how Geralds approached practice before the game. With these buy games we can afford to be a little more tired than normal. Looking forward to Sunday's game.
I'm starting to think that Reagan Bass is the most important player on this team. Not that she's necessarily the best (she's very good, though), or that everything flows through her, but the frontcourt is very different when she's on the bench. If I were an opposing coach watching the tape of this game, I'd game plan to try to get Bass into early foul trouble. With a short bench and young post players, keeping Bass off the floor opens up a lot of holes in the Purdue defense. I hope that improves over the course of the season.