Purdue women's basketball report: Madison Layden opts out of WNIT

The team's third-leading scorer decided to bypass playing during the postseason

The Boilermakers already played without one of their regular starters during the Big Ten tournament earlier this month.

Caitlyn Harper suffered a season-ending knee injury against Penn State at the end of February, removing plenty of experience from the lineup.  Purdue will be without another regular starter Monday during the WNIT’s second-round matchup at Butler.

Coach Katie Gearlds said Saturday that Madison Layden “decided to opt-out” of playing in the WNIT, leaving the Boilermakers without one of their top-scoring options.

“That’s her right,” Gearlds said. “She worked hard for four years and had a solid career. There will be moments on Monday when we miss her out there because she is such a security blanket for all of us on both ends of the floor. It’s been good to get however many practices we’ve had to plug in and see who fills those spots.

“I thank her for believing in me for three years  and wish her all the best.”

Purdue coach Katie Gearlds (Dave Wegiel Photography)

Monday is Purdue’s first game since losing to Nebraska in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on March 7. Gearlds gave the team time off after the tournament but resumed practices over the last 10 days.

Freshman Rashunda Jones is likely to step into the starting lineup, but classmate Sophie Swanson is also an option. Regardless, Jones and Swanson will see more time, and junior Jalya Smith could play more minutes.

“Butler plays four guards and a post – and a lot of these teams actually do in the tournament – and whether we play small with (Jeanae Terry) moving to the (power forward), we don’t have that other big guard that we had with Madison.

“We’ve been trying to be creative on both ends. It’s been fun, and it’s been a unique challenge.”

Gearlds spoke with the four seniors near the end of the season outlining possible postseason scenarios. The NCAA tournament was a long shot unless the Boilermakers won the conference tournament, leaving either the WBIT or WNIT as choices.  

“It was more of this is where we are,” Gearlds said. “Take your time, think about it and there’s no pressure from us about what you want to do.”

MONDAY’S GAME

Purdue (13-18) at Butler (15-16)

Time: 7 p.m.

Streaming: Butler YouTube

Radio: BOB-FM