Purdue women's basketball report: Maryland preview, Jordyn Poole ready to practice
The Boilermakers open Big Ten play against the seventh-ranked Terrapins and the team's freshman point guard could see action before Christmas
A snapshot look at Saturday’s matchup between No. 7 Maryland and Purdue at Mackey Arena:
Time: 2 p.m.
Watch: B1G+
Radio: 95.3 BOB-FM
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The conference opener for both teams. The Terrapins are 9-0 and believe they can contend for the regular-season championship by challenging UCLA and USC. Purdue is looking for a marquee victory over an elite team, and Maryland would qualify. But the Boilermakers are 0-8 at home in the series and 2-17 overall. Notre Dame and South Carolina already posted lopsided victories over Purdue, which can’t afford another 30 or 40-point setback to a top-10 team.
ABOUT MARYLAND
• The Terrapins are 9-0 for the first time since the 2018-19 season. They began that season 12-0. The best start in program history is 18-0 in 2006-07.
• Seven transfers and 10 new players decorate Maryland’s roster. Among the newcomers are Christina Dalce, Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year at Villanova; Sarah Te-Biasu, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year at VCU; Kaylene Smikle, a second-team All-Big Ten selection at Rutgers, and Saylor Poffenberger, who made the SEC All-Freshman team at Arkansas. Six of the transfers are seeing action through the first nine games. Shyanne Sellers, a preseason All-Big Ten pick, returns for her senior season. The bottom line: the Terps are talented and feature depth.
• Maryland changed its starting lineup in its last game. Dalce started the first eight games but was replaced by Poffenberger. The numbers are similar. Dalce is averaging 9.8 points and 7.9 rebounds. Poffenberger is averaging 9.7 points and 8.3 rebounds.
• Look for the Terrapins to go inside. They’re averaging 47.3 points in the paint, which is 55.8% of their scoring production. In more than half of Maryland’s games, it’s scored at least 50 points in the paint.
ABOUT PURDUE
• Jordyn Poole’s college debut is moving into focus as long as there are no setbacks.
Poole has been sidelined since the summer with a stress fracture but was examined by doctors on Thursday. The Fort Wayne Snider graduate is ready for the next step.
That is eventually practicing full-time and seeing game action.
“A lot of calcification over the bone, which it's healing, and healing the way they want it to heal,” Purdue coach Katie Gearlds said. “It's a matter of continuing to ramp things up and see how her leg handles it. The kid is just itching to get on the court. I think we're in a position where we could use someone like Jordy Poole.”
After Saturday’s game, the Boilermakers don’t play until Dec. 14 against Kentucky. Final exams are next week, and Purdue has plenty of opportunities to practice and see where Poole stands from a conditioning standpoint.
Poole would handle point guard duties off the bench.
“Next week is a good week for us to push the narrative a little bit with it being finals week and see how her body reacts,” Gearlds said. “I don't envision the Kentucky game. I think the idea is maybe Indiana State before Christmas, and if her body allows her, hopefully, we can get her on a road game in Miami, Ohio, and go from there.
“The kid has been working her tail off. She's done everything that we've asked, that the doctors have asked, and just seeing her in shooting drills or different splits that we do, she's a different level player, different type of player than anybody we have right now.”
• Purdue snapped a two-game losing streak with Wednesday’s 60-51 victory over Maine. Reagan Bass, Destini Lombard, and Ella Collier combined for 43 points and 20 rebounds. Purdue outscored the Black Bears 31-16 in the second half.
• Saturday marks the second time in the last three years the conference home opener is against the Terrapins.
• Can the Boilermakers force the Terrapins to score from the perimeter? Maryland’s success in the paint is intimidating, but it’s shooting 37.5% from the 3-point line, which is second among Big Ten teams. There may not be a good answer.
• The Purdue-Maryland matchup last season was postponed after a leak in the Xfinity Center roof made the court unplayable. The game was rescheduled eight days later, and the Terrapins won. No rain is expected Saturday in West Lafayette.
• Amiyah Reynolds will make her second start for the Boilermakers on Saturday, and it comes against the program she initially committed to in 2021. However, she de-committed and signed with Purdue after her older sister, Mila, left the Terrapins and joined Gearlds’ program.
“It’s our first Big Ten game, and that’s the reason why we’re all looking forward to it,” Reynolds said. “I haven’t made this about myself in any way. It’s just another game, another Big Ten game. We just want to win it for our team.”
PRESSING QUESTION
Can the Boilermakers play a competitive game against a top-10 team? The first two attempts - Notre Dame and South Carolina - ended poorly. Purdue lost by 44 and 48 points, respectively. The Boilermakers fell behind 28-7 to the Irish after one quarter, and the Gamecocks posted a 30-6 advantage in the second quarter. Purdue must find a way to stay connected to the Terrapins and take the game into the second half.