Purdue women's basketball report: Schedule update and 2025 offer
SEC opponent to visit Mackey Arena for the first time and Noblesville standout receives scholarship offer
Here’s the interesting nugget about Thursday’s announcement that the Boilermakers will host Kentucky this season.
The game contract was signed before the Wildcats made a coaching change at the end of last season. Kentucky hired Kenny Brooks to replace Kyra Elzy and the former Virginia Tech coach inherited the home-and-home matchup against Purdue.
“Kenny is one of the elite coaches in our sport. Great recruiter. Great player development,” coach Katie Gearlds said. “We wanted to play, at the time an SEC school that we were comparable to, but we’ll see where the chips fall.”
Kentucky will visit Mackey Arena for the first time on Dec. 14. The Boilermakers will play at Kentucky during the 2025-26 season.
Joining Brooks in Lexington is former Boilermaker Lindsey Hicks, who holds the title of associate head coach for the Wildcats, a position she had with the Hokies for one season. Overall, she spent four seasons with Brooks at Virginia Tech after stops at Louisiana Tech, Northwestern State, Alabama and Morehead State.
Hicks played for the Boilermakers from 2001-04 and came to West Lafayette as part of the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class.
Brooks is already transforming Kentucky into an SEC contender.
All-American guard Georgia Amoore transferred from the Hokies to the Wildcats, and JUCO standout Amelia Hassett changed her commitment from Virginia Tech to Kentucky.
Other additions include Teonni Key from North Carolina, Dazia Lawrence from Charlotte and Jordan Obi from Penn.
Brooks guided the Hokies to the 2023 Final Four and won last season’s Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship.
The matchup against Kentucky is the first of several schedule announcements expected by Purdue in the coming weeks. Notre Dame will visit Mackey Arena in early November, completing the home-and-home contract with the Irish.
The Boilermakers will play two games in Fort Myers, Florida over Thanksgiving weekend. Purdue has numerous home games scheduled but is expected to add a road game at a Mid-American Conference program.
2025 offer
Earlier this week, Gearlds extended a scholarship offer to Noblesville’s Meredith Tippner, who is playing well for Indiana Elite during the spring period.
The 5-foot-10 Tippner averaged 16.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 3.3 steals as a junior for the Millers. Tippner posted double-doubles against Fort Wayne Snider and Valparaiso in the IHSAA state tournament. She’s totaled over 1,100 career points.
She helped Noblesville win one state championship in basketball and two in soccer.
Tippner is part of the core group for the Indiana Junior All-Stars, which will face the Kentucky Junior All-Stars on June 2 at Scottsburg and take on the Indiana Senior All-Stars on June 5 at Kokomo.
Purdue has two commitments in the 2025 recruiting class - South Bend Washington’s Kira Reynolds and Brownsburg’s Avery Gordon. Tippner and Gordon are teammates with Indiana Elite.