Purdue's preparing like it won't have April Wilson.
Perhaps for an extended period.
The starting point guard will miss her second consecutive game Tuesday after suffering a concussion early in the second half vs. Northwestern last Wednesday. Wilson's not yet been cleared to return to any sort of action, and might not be close.
"We're going to prepare like she'll be done for the rest of the year," said Coach Sharon Versyp, whose team takes on Ohio State at 7 p.m. Tuesday. "Have no idea. Until she progress, we'll take it a day at a time."
The loss leaves Purdue (10-15 overall, 3-11 in the Big Ten) without an experienced point guard. Sophomore Ashley Morrissette, a natural off-guard, picked up the duties vs. Rutgers on Saturday. The Boilermakers were good early, then fell apart late vs. the Knights' pressure; Purdue's 22 turnovers, seven by Morrissette, were turned into 30 points.
The Buckeyes (17-9, 9-5) are likely to pressure the Boilermakers, similar to how they did in an overtime victory in Mackey Arena. Versyp says the Boilermakers plan to employ as many as three press breakers to get the ball up court.
"It's being able to spread the floor a little bit more, passing, having better angles," she said. "But really spreading it out and being able to look over, get the ball into the middle, then getting up the sideline.
"When Ohio State pressed us before, we handled it pretty well, but we did have April then. Obviously, that's a point of emphasis for us, to do better than we did."
Captain Liza Clemons says dealing with the pressure is on the team, not an individual.
"We definitely have to be stronger with the ball," she said. "And everyone has to be stronger with it, from the guards to the posts, it doesn't matter. We have to pass fake, over top, below, it doesn't matter. We've played ball before, so we've got to be able to handle the pressure, adjust to it and keep playing."
• When the Buckeyes beat Purdue on Jan. 25, it was behind the strength of freshman guard Kelsey Mitchell.
The lefty scored a Mackey Arena-record 37 points, including 31 in the second half and overtime.
"We can't let her go off like that," Clemons said. "We contained her the first half, then the second half she got whatever she wanted. She's a great player, a great player, definitely somebody who is hard to guard, because if you get up on her she can go right by you. If you're not on her enough, she can shoot the 3. She has a variety of moves, uses her body well. We definitely have to contain her and play our best defense against her."
Mitchell is averaging a Big Ten-best 25.2 points per game. If Purdue can replicate its first-half performance vs. her the first time around, then maybe it has a chance.
"In the first half the first time we played her, everywhere she was, two people were closing in on her so she couldn't get into the paint," Versyp said. "So we've got to do a better job for 40 minutes of doing that. Maybe chase her a little bit and if four other people beat us, they beat us. But she's the key."
• Since coming back from suspension, freshman Erica Moore has gradually worked into the rotation.
He had her best outing at Rutgers Saturday, scoring five points on 2-of-3 shooting with two rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
"She has passion, energy, excitement, but that's what you need," Versyp said. "She's simple-minded (in basketball terms), so if she gets the ball down low, and if it's a one-on-one situation, she can make things happen. And she's really explosive.
"She did really well in doing what she needed to do to get back on the team and now she can utilize that."
Perhaps for an extended period.
The starting point guard will miss her second consecutive game Tuesday after suffering a concussion early in the second half vs. Northwestern last Wednesday. Wilson's not yet been cleared to return to any sort of action, and might not be close.
"We're going to prepare like she'll be done for the rest of the year," said Coach Sharon Versyp, whose team takes on Ohio State at 7 p.m. Tuesday. "Have no idea. Until she progress, we'll take it a day at a time."
The loss leaves Purdue (10-15 overall, 3-11 in the Big Ten) without an experienced point guard. Sophomore Ashley Morrissette, a natural off-guard, picked up the duties vs. Rutgers on Saturday. The Boilermakers were good early, then fell apart late vs. the Knights' pressure; Purdue's 22 turnovers, seven by Morrissette, were turned into 30 points.
The Buckeyes (17-9, 9-5) are likely to pressure the Boilermakers, similar to how they did in an overtime victory in Mackey Arena. Versyp says the Boilermakers plan to employ as many as three press breakers to get the ball up court.
"It's being able to spread the floor a little bit more, passing, having better angles," she said. "But really spreading it out and being able to look over, get the ball into the middle, then getting up the sideline.
"When Ohio State pressed us before, we handled it pretty well, but we did have April then. Obviously, that's a point of emphasis for us, to do better than we did."
Captain Liza Clemons says dealing with the pressure is on the team, not an individual.
"We definitely have to be stronger with the ball," she said. "And everyone has to be stronger with it, from the guards to the posts, it doesn't matter. We have to pass fake, over top, below, it doesn't matter. We've played ball before, so we've got to be able to handle the pressure, adjust to it and keep playing."
• When the Buckeyes beat Purdue on Jan. 25, it was behind the strength of freshman guard Kelsey Mitchell.
The lefty scored a Mackey Arena-record 37 points, including 31 in the second half and overtime.
"We can't let her go off like that," Clemons said. "We contained her the first half, then the second half she got whatever she wanted. She's a great player, a great player, definitely somebody who is hard to guard, because if you get up on her she can go right by you. If you're not on her enough, she can shoot the 3. She has a variety of moves, uses her body well. We definitely have to contain her and play our best defense against her."
Mitchell is averaging a Big Ten-best 25.2 points per game. If Purdue can replicate its first-half performance vs. her the first time around, then maybe it has a chance.
"In the first half the first time we played her, everywhere she was, two people were closing in on her so she couldn't get into the paint," Versyp said. "So we've got to do a better job for 40 minutes of doing that. Maybe chase her a little bit and if four other people beat us, they beat us. But she's the key."
• Since coming back from suspension, freshman Erica Moore has gradually worked into the rotation.
He had her best outing at Rutgers Saturday, scoring five points on 2-of-3 shooting with two rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
"She has passion, energy, excitement, but that's what you need," Versyp said. "She's simple-minded (in basketball terms), so if she gets the ball down low, and if it's a one-on-one situation, she can make things happen. And she's really explosive.
"She did really well in doing what she needed to do to get back on the team and now she can utilize that."
