Saturday's Purdue women's basketball report: Madison Layden's future, postseason options and more
As the Boilermakers look ahead to Sunday's matchup at Wisconsin, what's next for Layden and is a non-NCAA tournament a possibility?
Madison Layden clarified her future – and how the Boilermakers may look next season – when the senior confirmed she won’t be using her COVID year to remain with the program.
Layden is eligible to play one more season but has elected to finish her career.
Wednesday is Purdue’s final regular season game and Senior Day against Penn State. There’s an outside chance the Boilermakers could play a postseason game – Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament or the Postseason WNIT – in mid-March.
So, Wednesday might be her last appearance at Mackey Arena.
“Mackey is special,” said Layden, a native of Kokomo who attended Northwestern High School and led the program to back-to-back Class 3A state titles. “The fans, the support we get in this community is like no other. It’s been special being here. The band is great, the students are great and just being able to play there every night is just … you can’t describe running out of the tunnel and seeing everyone. It’s a great feeling.”
Layden is 16 points shy of reaching 1,000 in her career for the Boilermakers, who play at Wisconsin on Sunday. She needs two 3-pointers to become the sixth player in program history to record 200.
Layden became engaged over Christmas break when longtime boyfriend, Rees Zay, proposed. They met when Zay was a practice player for the program.
We’ll have more with Layden in a Senior Day Q&A before Wednesday’s matchup against the Lady Lions. Layden and seniors Jeanae Terry, Abbey Ellis, and Caitlyn Harper will be honored.
POSTSEASON OPTIONS
The Boilermakers are four games under .500 before Sunday’s game against the Badgers and a spot in the NCAA tournament is the longest of longshots. It would require Purdue to win the Big Ten tournament to earn the automatic bid, possibly winning five games in five days.
However, there could be a postseason tournament for the Boilermakers. The two options:
The 32-team Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament was created in the offseason and is sponsored by the NCAA. The first four teams left out of the NCAA tournament receive a bid, leaving 28 at-large selections. After playing on campus, the semifinals and finals will be held at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The 48-team Postseason WNIT requires schools to pay to host, and the amount increases with each round. All games are on campus sites.
The Boilermakers certainly have work to move closer to .500, but there isn’t a minimum record to be selected. The WBIT will use the NCAA’s NET ranking to guide selecting teams. Through Friday’s games, Purdue's ranking is 76.
“We want to play,” coach Katie Gearlds said. “No matter what it is, we want to play. It will depend on which one it is and what the makeup of our team looks like. Our entire team is locked into playing, but we’ve got a job to go win the Big Ten tournament, and maybe we find our way into the NCAA tournament.”
Two years ago, the Boilermakers played in the WNIT, advancing to the second round before losing to Marquette. The program parlayed that experience into another step forward in 2022-23, earning a spot in the NCAA tournament play-in game, losing to St. John’s.
“I know I said it last year – I hate the idea of Purdue not being in the NCAA tournament, but this year hasn’t gone that way in terms of winning,” Gearlds said. “I know this for a fact – the experience will take us to where we want to go and I think about Senior Day and whatnot, our program and our culture is better than it was a few years ago. It hasn’t translated to wins but it will. It’s climbing this mountain slowly. (I) believe in this group, I believe in this staff, and we will get it turned around here.”
But the Boilermakers will need some wins down the stretch and possibly a victory in the Big Ten tournament to become an attractive candidate. With 80 teams playing in the postseason beyond the NCAA tournament, the field has to be filled with teams regardless of overall records.
ODDS AND ENDS
• Terry is 13 points shy of scoring 1,000 career points at Purdue and Illinois. She ranks second in the Big Ten in steals, collecting 10 in the last three games. Terry is on pace to become the first Boilermaker to average more than six points, six rebounds and six assists in a career.
• One more from the loss to Michigan State.
Trailing by eight at the end of the third quarter, the Boilermakers played for one shot, hoping to cut into the deficit. Terry was dribbling out front, but a play never developed, leaving the senior in no man’s land and forcing up a jumper as the shot clock expired.
Gearlds had designed a play for Sophie Swanson.
“We wanted to run a go-screen for her and she knew what a go-screen was but I think in the moment and what we call it and she’s like, ‘I’ve never played that spot,’ ” Gearlds explained Saturday.
She asked Swanson: ‘What’s a go-screen?’ and the freshman replied: ‘Yeah, you’re right.’
Although the play didn’t materialize, Gearlds said she saw growth in the moment.
“The eye contact and the maturity that she’s shown because early in the year I probably wasn’t getting that,” Gearlds said.
And the same can be said about the other freshmen – Mary Ashley Stevenson and Rashunda Jones.
“I think for her and Mary Ashley and Rashunda, when the game slows down for them mentally and I think physically, it’s really slowed down for Mary Ashley and Rashunda can get sped up a little bit,” Gearlds said. “When the game mentally slows down for them, those three can be really special for us.”
• Lasha Petree, who played one season for the program after transferring from Rutgers, has been working out with the team since returning from overseas.
• The Substack platform doesn’t allow for video from X (Twitter) to be posted but 2025 commitment Avery Gordon from Brownsburg is on the social media site dunking.
