Quickly rising freshman post Domonique McBryde has 35 field goals during Big Ten play.
Nearly 54 percent of the assists on those baskets have been delivered by senior April Wilson, the point guard who admittedly is playing the best basketball of her life right now for the Boilermakers.
Perhaps the prettiest recent connection from the combination came during Purdue’s victory over Iowa Sunday when Wilson was on the deep wing on the left side and lofted an alley-oop pass to McBryde, who came charging hard off the right wing toward the basket. McBryde leaped to catch the pass and banked in the shot in one motion.
That’s called chemistry.
“Coach is always trying to set us up in positions to be in the two-man game, just us two,” Wilson said before Tuesday’s practice, a day before Purdue plays at No. 18 Michigan State. “So I love being in two-man with her because I read well off her, she reads well off me.”
The freshman’s emergence over the last six games certainly has helped boost production.
McBryde is shooting 56 percent from the floor and averaging 14 points during the stretch, all in Big Ten play, and she’s coming off an 18-point performance against the Hawkeyes that included a 12-point fourth quarter.
The 6-foot-2 power forward has surged as she’s gotten more minutes, playing at least 17 in the last six games and as many as 28. That’s allowed McBryde not only to get more comfortable in the flow of a game offensively — but also with Wilson and other teammates.
“With a great point guard like she is, she’s going to find everybody to help them be successful. That’s what we want for everybody to help bring the good chemistry to the team and help us win it,” McBryde said of Wilson, who had a career-best 12 assists against Iowa. “With her, she’ll know when someone is hot. She’ll know when to look for that person to get the ball.
“I think I’ve been playing pretty solid. I think I’ve been more confident out there, getting a lot more minutes and just making the most of every situation I’m in.”
Confidence has been key, Coach Sharon Versyp said.
She’s seen a rise in both players in that regard, especially late.
Wilson’s level of play, somehow, continues to increase to where she’s coming off back-to-back 24-point games while also keeping teammates involved, limiting turnovers and playing solid defense.
It certainly helps when there’s a developing potentially dominant post player to feed the ball to.
“She’s a beast,” said Wilson, who had eight assists to McBryde in two games last week. “I told her back at Northwestern (on Jan. 7), before we played in that, when she comes in, it may not be a lot of minutes, but she’s productive. She’s going to be one of the greats when she leaves here. She’s so good. She has great hands and she finishes really well. With both hands. Her left hand may be even better than her right. She’s such a good player. I love watching her even while I’m playing myself.”
McBryde is right-handed, and when asked how she developed such an impressive left hand — it shows up consistently from the post in her ability to make moves over both shoulders with either hand and appear as comfortable with a lefty move as a right — she says she doesn’t quite know.
“I think it just comes natural,” McBryde says, smiling and kind of shrugging it off.
The versatility certainly has been a weapon.
Getting consistency from a post scorer — McBryde has hit double-digits in five of the last six games — to go with a dangerous threat from the perimeter and off-the-bounce like Wilson has been, it’s a combination Coach Sharon Versyp has liked.
“They both are confident,” Versyp said. “When you’re confident a lot of great things can happen. This year we put a new offense in and there’s a lot two-person game. Being able to exploit that — and being successful exploiting it (is important). When you can shoot the three behind a screen, you can come off it, they have to pick their poison and Dom just does a great job of letting the game come to her.
“(McBryde is) a very patient post player, handles double teams well and she can shoot with her right or left hand, so if she’s in unfamiliar territory underneath the basket, she can flip that other hand. That’s just uncanny. That’s an amazing skill you can’t teach.”
Battle of the boards: Michigan State is sixth in the country in rebounding margin, and it's had success on the glass not just because it has a wealth of size, which it does in 6-foot-4 Becca Mills (7.2 rpg) and 6-foot-3 Jasmine Hines (6.6 rpg). It's much more than that. The leading rebounder is 6-foot Aerial Powers (12.1) and 5-8 guard Tori Jankoska averages 6.8 per game.
"They all crash the boards hard," Versyp said. "They’re very athletic. They’re leapers. So rebounding is going to be a big key, trying to keep them off the boards. ... Every single guard, every single post player is going to have to box out. We need to have warriors on the boards. You have to make contact because they’re athletes and they’re going to go over top of you. You have two really, really physical players and the rest are leapers. They’re not always going to call over the back just because of the verticality. We have to commit to that, whether we’re playing man or zone."
Purdue actually is third in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (plus-3.8), which is impressive considering coaches knew it was the clear weakness of the team heading into the season. The Boilermakers needed a collective approach on the glass, and they've gotten it for the most part.
Bridget Perry's 5.9 per game leads the team, but guard Andreona Keys averages 5.3, and point guard Wilson is third with 4.0.
"For any team in the Big Ten, honestly, you just have to match everyone’s intensity each night. But for them, especially, even their guards, point guards, crash, so it’s going to be crucial for us (to rebound)," Wilson said. "It is a mindset, to box out and want the ball.
"It’s also going to be crucial for us to rebound and push the ball because that’s when we play our best."
Better than ever? Wilson made 20-of-32 shots, scored 48 points and had 17 assists in two games last week. She's seeing the court better than ever, both in delivering on-point passes in transition and also in the half court, whether it's against a man or a zone defense. She's following the scouting report so perfectly, she's been able to jump in passing lanes and increase her defensive production, too.
Has she ever played at this kind of level before?
"I have not," Wilson said. "It’s my senior year. I’ve said it before, Coach has always talked about leaving a legacy and I try to play every game like it’s the national championship."
And that elite level of play means Versyp isn't taking Wilson out of the game.
Last week, Wilson played the full 40 minutes in both games. It's only the second time in her career she's played at least 40 minutes in back-to-back games -- but the other occurrence was in back-to-back overtime games last season.
"If I’m playing well, Coach trusts me to be out there," Wilson said. "But it goes back to the conditioning, back in the summer and even before that. My strength coaches put me in position to be able to play 40 minutes, how I’m playing right now. It’s a mental mindset at the end of the day, too. If I’m physically tired, I can’t show it."
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