After Purdue’s loss to Iowa, its fifth straight, on Feb. 18, Ashley Morrissette set out to see what was wrong with her jumper.
The junior had gone 3-of-17 vs. the Hawkeyes – and felt like they were quality shots – and wanted a fix. So she looked back at the film, watching her jumpers over and over.
“I was trying to determine what was going on,” she said Wednesday afternoon, in anticipation of Purdue’s opener vs. Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday night. “So I noticed that my arch was not very high – it was low – and my shot was really rushed too. So I decided that I needed to focus on taking my time on my shoot and making sure that I have a higher release point.”
The diagnosis was correct. In the three games since, Morrissette has been on fire, averaging 21.3 points per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the field, including 8-of-17 from three-point range. In the season-finale win over Wisconsin, the guard had a career-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting with five three-pointers.
“I think she’s matured quite a bit,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “She’s always watched her game – and we meet once a week – but she gets to the gym extra and does different things and tweaks her shot, it’s something that she’s always done.
“But we kept saying that her shot was flat and if she was able to dissect that, she was able to make the adjustment to have a higher-arching more, having more lift as we say. It’s great when people put in their work.”
Morrissette, who was named honorable mention All-Big Ten on Monday, is giving the Boilermakers a big boost. Purdue’s not been an outstanding perimeter shooting team this season, with its 81 three-pointers in conference play ranking second-to-last and the percentage of .333 being eighth.
Part of that has been inconsistency, from Morrissette and her teammates.
“I feel that’s what we were lacking, just consistency from players day in and day out,” she said, “so I think that’s going to be a major, key component come tournament time.”
Purdue’s offense has been on the upswing of late. In the three game winning streak, the Boilermakers are averaging 70 points per game, while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor, with 14 makes on their 33 three-point attempts (42.2 percent).
Morrissette’s streak has been a big reason why.
“It’s big and that’s why we’ve been able to be successful these last three games,” Versyp said. “We’ve got to be able to have someone shoot the outside so it will open it up a little bit more for our post play. It’s been great that she’s been on all cylinders shooting the ball.”
Long wait: The Boilermakers have all day to wait for their tip.
Sixth-seeded Purdue (19-10 overall) takes on Penn State at approximately 9 p.m. Thursday, after the 11th-seeded Lions (11-18) disposed of Illinois 75-66 on Wednesday.
The Boilermakers watched the game in their film room on Wednesday, then traveled to Indianapolis after. And Thursday, they’ll be able to get into the Bankers Life gym to shoot around early, then wait for the game.
“You’ve got to keep them loose, it can’t just be all business every single second,” Versyp said. “… We’re going down and having a night dinner (Wednesday) night and will be able to shoot on the court (Thursday), so I think that’s every important, get them out of the hotel for a couple hours, get them back and rested, watch some video and get in our (pre-game routine).”
Morrissette’s used to the drill, having played late games before, but she says it’s a tough balance.
“(I’ll be) thinking about the game all day, pretty much,” she said. “But we’ve got stuff planned to take our mind off it, just to make sure it’s not all about the game, it’s about fun and bolding with our teammates.”
Injury updates: Torrie Thornton is still sore, per Versyp, following the forward’s injury vs. Wisconsin Sunday.
Thornton twisted an ankle on defense, hitting the Mackey floor hard while in pain. She missed the rest of the third quarter, then returned briefly to the court at the end of the fourth before a send off for the fans.
“We’re hoping we’ll get the soreness out by Thursday night,” Versyp said. “She did some shooting (Tuesday) but that’s about it. We practiced hard (then) and (Wednesday) is more of a walk-through. We’re hoping she’s at 90 percent.”
The same for Andreona Keys, who is dealing with a tailbone injury suffered before the Rutgers’ game last week.
NCAA bound?: Purdue’s on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, but is feeling good about its chances of getting in.
A win vs. the Nittany Lions Thursday would help, in that it would give the Boilermakers 20 overall and prevent a potentially costly “bad” loss.
Purdue’s RPI, as of Thursday, is 58.
“There’s always work to be done,” Versyp said. “I feel we are totally qualified, that we should be in. If you look from 55 to 75 (in the RPI), nobody has a better résumé. It’s a complete (body of work) and I think that’s what people have to understand.
“But any time you win it doesn’t hurt. But I feel there should be five or six teams from the Big Ten, not just us and then someone else is questionable.”
The Boilermakers, at least the upperclassmen, are aware of the situation.
“I know we’re on the bubble and have to do well in the (Big Ten) Tournament,” senior April Wilson said. “We’re trying to win it all, but obviously once we get that first game secured we should be in the (NCAA) Tournament.”
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