April Wilson remembers the hit and the headache, particularly the latter.
Early in the first half against Northwestern on Feb. 11, the point guard knocked heads with fellow PG Ashley Deary. It left Wilson out the rest of the second half and overtime, of a loss, then sidelined the next two games.
"As soon as I got hit, it was an instant headache," Wilson said Monday afternoon. "I had one earlier in the season, so I'm more susceptible to getting them. But it is what it is."
The junior returned against Illinois, after having only an individual workout the day before, ending a lengthy 10-day absence that frequently had her seeking dark, quiet places to calm the symptoms. She played a team-high 38 minutes against the Fighting Illini, and finished with six points and three assists, but five turnovers.
Wilson, whose Boilermakers play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Michigan, says she tried to play as loose as possible, but knows there's concern about her health, as well.
"Of course, there's concern, me getting hit again," she said. "But I try not to (think about it); coach just said to be extra fundamental this game, don't try to do anything out of the norm. That's what I tried to do, but obviously it didn't work that well, because we lost and I didn't take care of the ball that well."
Yet the Boilermakers need Wilson. Without her in the lineup, their offensive flow suffers, and a team that isn't the best at scoring loses one of its more efficient players.
But Coach Sharon Versyp says Purdue will monitor Wilson as closely as possible in the last couple weeks of the season. She has to take computer and exercise concussion protocol exams frequently, in an effort to make sure she's OK.
"We just have to be smart, because her health comes first," Versyp said.
• Now that she's through the ankle injury, Bridget Perry has found herself having other problems.
Perhaps due to her conditioning falling off during her month-long absence, the sophomore is suffering from a tight hamstring and a sore Achilles. It limited her to only three first-half minutes against the Illinois Saturday, then 10 in the second half.
"We're banged up, but you've got to just play through it or don't play," Versyp said. "It's got to be a mindset. But the health of the players are first and foremost. So if they want to do, they can go."
Purdue will likely limit Perry's practice time, trying to use her only during games over the next two weeks.
The Boilermakers were also without Justine Hall for the Illini game, after the freshman had a migraine during shoot-around in the morning.
"Hopefully, she should be good to go," Versyp said. "I think she's had them in the past, but not since she's been here. Her symptoms were so severe that (she had to sit)."
• On her bobblehead day, Stephanie White was overcome with emotion.
Moments before she took center court to say a few words to the few thousand in attendance for Saturday's game vs. Illinois, many of whom were holding White's likeness, Purdue played a video on the big screen, highlighting her accomplishments.
They are many: An All-American and national player-of-the-year as a senior in 1999, when she led the Boilermakers to the national championship. Athletic director Morgan Burke, Coach Sharon Versyp, assistant and former teammate Kelly Komara spoke on the video, telling of what White meant for the program then and now.
By the time White, the head coach of the Indiana Fever and an analyst for BTN, was ready to speak, she was fighting back tears.
"When I think about stepping on this floor, I think about all the great teammates that I had, all the great coaches that I played for - because there was a lot of them - I think about Ukari Figgs and the things that we went through here," she said. "And why all those trials made winning a national championship all that much more special.
"And now, every time I come back in this gym, whether it's coming back to watch a game, or coming back to work a game, it always feels like coming home. It's all thanks to you (the fans), you guys are what makes Purdue women's basketball and Purdue athletics special. You're part of the family, part of the culture, part of the reason we've been able to make this program so successful."
The ceremony was part of Purdue's alumni weekend, with former members of the Boilermakers playing in a game, then being recognized at halftime. White got the biggest cheer, as did recent former graduates like Courtney Moses and Chantel Poston.
Early in the first half against Northwestern on Feb. 11, the point guard knocked heads with fellow PG Ashley Deary. It left Wilson out the rest of the second half and overtime, of a loss, then sidelined the next two games.
"As soon as I got hit, it was an instant headache," Wilson said Monday afternoon. "I had one earlier in the season, so I'm more susceptible to getting them. But it is what it is."
The junior returned against Illinois, after having only an individual workout the day before, ending a lengthy 10-day absence that frequently had her seeking dark, quiet places to calm the symptoms. She played a team-high 38 minutes against the Fighting Illini, and finished with six points and three assists, but five turnovers.
Wilson, whose Boilermakers play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Michigan, says she tried to play as loose as possible, but knows there's concern about her health, as well.
"Of course, there's concern, me getting hit again," she said. "But I try not to (think about it); coach just said to be extra fundamental this game, don't try to do anything out of the norm. That's what I tried to do, but obviously it didn't work that well, because we lost and I didn't take care of the ball that well."
Yet the Boilermakers need Wilson. Without her in the lineup, their offensive flow suffers, and a team that isn't the best at scoring loses one of its more efficient players.
But Coach Sharon Versyp says Purdue will monitor Wilson as closely as possible in the last couple weeks of the season. She has to take computer and exercise concussion protocol exams frequently, in an effort to make sure she's OK.
"We just have to be smart, because her health comes first," Versyp said.
• Now that she's through the ankle injury, Bridget Perry has found herself having other problems.
Perhaps due to her conditioning falling off during her month-long absence, the sophomore is suffering from a tight hamstring and a sore Achilles. It limited her to only three first-half minutes against the Illinois Saturday, then 10 in the second half.
"We're banged up, but you've got to just play through it or don't play," Versyp said. "It's got to be a mindset. But the health of the players are first and foremost. So if they want to do, they can go."
Purdue will likely limit Perry's practice time, trying to use her only during games over the next two weeks.
The Boilermakers were also without Justine Hall for the Illini game, after the freshman had a migraine during shoot-around in the morning.
"Hopefully, she should be good to go," Versyp said. "I think she's had them in the past, but not since she's been here. Her symptoms were so severe that (she had to sit)."
• On her bobblehead day, Stephanie White was overcome with emotion.
Moments before she took center court to say a few words to the few thousand in attendance for Saturday's game vs. Illinois, many of whom were holding White's likeness, Purdue played a video on the big screen, highlighting her accomplishments.
They are many: An All-American and national player-of-the-year as a senior in 1999, when she led the Boilermakers to the national championship. Athletic director Morgan Burke, Coach Sharon Versyp, assistant and former teammate Kelly Komara spoke on the video, telling of what White meant for the program then and now.
By the time White, the head coach of the Indiana Fever and an analyst for BTN, was ready to speak, she was fighting back tears.
"When I think about stepping on this floor, I think about all the great teammates that I had, all the great coaches that I played for - because there was a lot of them - I think about Ukari Figgs and the things that we went through here," she said. "And why all those trials made winning a national championship all that much more special.
"And now, every time I come back in this gym, whether it's coming back to watch a game, or coming back to work a game, it always feels like coming home. It's all thanks to you (the fans), you guys are what makes Purdue women's basketball and Purdue athletics special. You're part of the family, part of the culture, part of the reason we've been able to make this program so successful."
The ceremony was part of Purdue's alumni weekend, with former members of the Boilermakers playing in a game, then being recognized at halftime. White got the biggest cheer, as did recent former graduates like Courtney Moses and Chantel Poston.
