Returning from knee surgery, Sophie Swanson looks to play key role for Purdue women's basketball
More than nine months after suffering an ACL injury, the freshman gives coach Katie Gearlds another scoring option off the bench during Big Ten season
Once she let the initial news sink in, the options started filtering through the mind of Katie Gearlds.
When the third-year Purdue women’s basketball coach was informed then-incoming freshman Sophie Swanson had suffered a knee injury near the end of her high school senior season, what’s next surfaced to the top.
“Is she redshirting? Is she not playing?” Gearlds recalled.
The answers came once Swanson underwent surgery in early March, began the rehabilitation process throughout the spring, arrived in West Lafayette to start summer workouts and slowly integrated herself into the team’s daily routine when official practices started.
In about nine months, Swanson went from a question mark to a possible key contributor off the bench for the Boilermakers, who resume Big Ten play Saturday against Wisconsin.
Swanson, who was Ms. Basketball in Illinois following her junior season, showcased how she might help during Purdue’s final game before Christmas break, totaling 10 points on a pair of 3-pointers in 14 minutes against Indiana State in the fifth game of her career.
“She’s starting to feel a little bit more Sophie-like,” Gearlds said. “If she got healthy, she could be an X-factor for us in Big Ten play.”
Photo: Purdue freshman Sophie Swanson (Dave Wegiel Photography)
PLENTY OF SUPPORT
Admitting “it’s not the easiest injury to come back from,” Swanson leaned on the program’s support system – Jessica Lipsett, associate director of sports medicine who oversees women’s basketball, the coaching staff and her teammates – to reach this point.
But there’s a lot more work ahead. The performance against the Sycamores could be the start of Swanson giving the Boilermakers a lift offensively. She saw her first action Nov. 26 against Southern Indiana, playing eight minutes.
“Being back on the court is the best feeling,” Swanson said. “It’s been almost a year. It’s good to be back.”
During the recruiting process, Gearlds watched Swanson average more than 21 points during her final two seasons, including hitting 83 3-pointers as a junior at Barrington Prep.
It’s not only the shooting skills, but the confidence to develop into a major contributor on offense as Purdue looks for a spark during the Big Ten season.
Swanson hasn’t met a shot she doesn’t like.
“We let her shoot whenever she needs to,” senior Abbey Ellis said.
This isn’t shooting every time she touches the ball, but if Swanson is open, it’s going up. There’s no hesitation, only a high level of confidence Swanson shows on the perimeter.
They don’t all go through the net but that’s not the point with this year’s team. The Boilermakers continue to pass up opportunities to score, which usually leads to turnovers, and they find themselves in a deeper hole.
“You can see what she can do,” Gearlds said. “She can move differently than everybody else on the court. She’s locked and loaded and ready to shoot whenever she catches it. Great first step, strong body and plays with a little bit of swag that she knows that she’s that good offensively.”
Photo: Purdue freshman Sophie Swanson (Dave Wegiel Photography)
MAKING PROGRESS
Swanson is still playing catch-up.
She wasn’t a full participant during summer workouts since Swanson wasn’t cleared for team activities. She’s behind from a defensive standpoint, still learning the scheme, but continues to make progress where the coaching staff is comfortable playing her for extended minutes.
Swanson, though, did more work away from team activities to quicken her development to where she might contribute this season, joining classmates Mary Ashley Stevenson and Rashunda Jones in playing key minutes.
Swanson overcame the biggest hurdle – having confidence in her knee to hold up.
“When I first started to get into the physical aspect of scrimmaging and stuff, I was a little hesitant but knowing my knee is stronger than it was before, I’m honestly at the point where I don’t think about it anymore and I know I can go out there and everything is going to be fine,” she said. “For a little bit, it was in the back of my mind when I was playing.”
Swanson has quickly emerged as a threat offensively, possibly taking pressure away from Ellis and Madison Layden to carry a heavy load on the perimeter.
“It takes pressure off Madison and Abbey to be perfect from the field every night because she’s somebody you have to respect because she shoots it at such a high clip,” Gearlds said. “She comes on the floor and that’s where her range is.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Wisconsin (7-4, 0-1) at Purdue (7-5, 0-1)
Time: 6 p.m.
TV: BTN
Radio: wbpefm.com