On Friday afternoon, Dominique McBryde carried her facemask with her as she readied for practice.
It’s part of her gear now.
The sophomore forward has an injured nose — she’ll like find out if it’s broken on Tuesday, when she sees an ear, nose and throat specialist — that’s requiring the extra protection.
McBryde was hurt Tuesday, two days before Purdue’s loss to No. 3 Maryland, when she took an elbow from Nora Kiesler.
“When she got hit in practice and then came back with the mask on, I thanked her for being so tough,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “Most kids wouldn’t have done that and she didn’t miss a beat. That impressed me and I obviously went to her and said, ‘We really appreciate that.’
“Not everybody is like that. We jut want to make sure she doesn’t get hit again, so there can be a healing process. She got a direct hit again (on Thursday night during the game) and thank God she had the mask on. You’ve got to keep playing, you can’t worry about that stuff.”
McBryde is trying to battle as well as she can. It’s not been an easy season, having to play the 5 at times, even though she’s undersized at 6-foot-2. But she’s managed.
Early in the season, she had an ankle injury that required a boot, and now it’s the nose. After Thursday’s loss to the Terps, she had ice packed onto her left shoulder due to taking a hit that left her with a bruise.
“The beginning when I found out I would have to (play the 5), it was a lot of wear and tear, especially guarding people who were three times as big as me,” McBryde said. “But now that I’m used to it, I think it’s just mental.”
McBryde is likely to keep wearing the mask, regardless of Tuesday’s outcome, but it’s not bad; after battling the standard one during practices, Thursday night’s was a custom fit.
It had a save, too, when Ae’Rianna Harris came crashing down on top of her while chasing a rebound. McBryde was shaking, forced out of the game briefly before reentering.
“With limited bodies, if anything happens to us, we want to push through because it would be best for the team,” she said.
• Although the Boilermakers lost on Thursday to Maryland, they feel they did enough well to continue their recent string of solid play.
Purdue (14-9 overall, 5-4 in the Big Ten), which plays Illinois (8-15, 3-7) at 3 p.m. Sunday, had won two straight prior to the loss.
“I think the first half we stuck with them and that showed we can stick with them if we play them in the Big Ten Tournament,” McBryde said. “Or with how we played with Ohio State all game. We just need to carry over that we’ve played well these last couple games. Coach has told us how these games are in our favor, we could have a chance to win all of them and have a top-four seed in the Big Ten.”
Although Purdue plays four of its last seven away from Mackey, all might be considered winnable games for the Boilermakers. But they’ll come in quick succession, with Sunday’s game vs. Illinois followed by Wednesday’s vs. Michigan, then Saturday’s at Penn State.
Purdue will try to stay as fresh as possible.
“you’ve got to continue to keep your rhythm but also try to stay sharp and focused,” Versyp said. “But also not wear them down, because if you don’t have energy and don’t have legs, you’re not going to be successful.
“We don’t look at it, with those four games in a short time, we’re just trying to keep it simple: ‘This is the next game.’ Then we have two days and the next game. We try to simplify it. That’s obviously very important and the games are going to continue to be very physical. But as long as we’re doing the right things, eating right, sleeping well — people don’t understand the recovery part is very, very important — and this group of players understand that a little bit better than we have before.”
• Bree Horrocks, who is out following knee surgery, has had a second — unrelated — procedure.
The junior had a labrum tear in her hip, requiring a fix, as well. She had had knee surgery to repair a patella injury, previously.
"She's looking really good that way," Versyp said. "But might as well take care of everything so she can be healthy the next two years."
Last edited:
