Bridget Perry isn’t going to start being more cautious.
Throwing her body around, diving after loose balls and lunging for rebounds is her game. It’s her style and she’s not going to change. Probably can’t change.
“I have to go out there and dive on the floor like I always do,” said Perry, who returns to the court Saturday for Purdue, after missing Wednesday loss at Michigan State with a concussion. “I have knee pads, mouth guard, everything. At the end of the day, I’m not going to be thinking about it.”
But Purdue needs Perry to stay healthy, also, considering the versatile forward is one of the Boilermakers’ most critical players. Without her against the Spartans, Purdue lost a scorer and its top rebounder, the latter point critical in the loss.
Perry was concussed late against Iowa last weekend, when she dove after a loose ball – a common occurrence – but then had her head slam into the floor after another player landed on her.
“I was dizzy for a sec and thought I was OK,” she said. “But I started to get a headache and kind of knew then that I had one.
“It was really weird, didn’t feel like myself. I couldn’t concentrate or do homework or anything, but I’m good now.”
Perry, a 6-foot-2 junior, passed her concussion test Friday morning, giving her a chance for a full practice latter that evening at Penn State, Purdue’s opponent at 2 p.m. Saturday.
She had done some non-contact work the day before, just walking through some stuff and shooting a bit.
The key now, particularly with Purdue having a short rotation, is playing hard but being aware, as well.
“Part of it is knowing time, clock, score, that type of stuff,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “If you get a foul, should you really do that extra, extra? We’re not telling you to take a play off, but being smart. If we’re ahead 18 or 20, I’m not going to be mad if you don’t go for that loose ball. It’s kind of looking at circumstances.
“But it’s hard; that’s what makes her special. She plays so hard, doesn’t take a play off and is inspiring, all those things.”
Perry’s going to keep after it.
“I feel like sometimes when you are cautious, that’s when bad things happen,” she said. “I’ve played like this for a while and have never had a concussion. Nothing aside from sprained ankles. It’s just continuing to play like I play; basketball is a contact sport, sometimes things like that happen.”
Staying ready: Purdue’s rotation is limited right now – only nine deep, with seven of those getting a majority of the minutes – so it’s trying to stay as fresh as possible.
And that’s hard, with Purdue playing four games in an eight-day window, ending with Maryland in Mackey Arena on Tuesday.
“We’re not doing a ton of things on the court (the day after a game),” Versyp said. “It’s more video, understanding things, stretching, refueling, and just a walk-through. We’ve started doing that since we’ve been in the Big Ten and it’s fared very well. But if you have 10 bodies it’s better than eight bodies. You’ve got to keep them fresh, but they still have to be active and do some things. (Thursday) was that type of day, and at least (Friday) we’ll be able to get in the gym at the Bryce Jordan Center and get our bodies moving.”
Having Perry back will help. Getting Hayden Hamby in the fold again would as well, but there’s not yet a solid timeline for the guard’s return. Hamby has missed the last seven games with a foot injury.
Early February was the initial estimate, and that’s close.
“She’s eager to come back,” Versyp said. “A lot of it is going to be the cutting, the cutting and jumping. She’s able to run some, Elliptical, jump shots. When you think of the arch of your foot, cutting off and jumping is the thing, so hopefully in the next week she can make a lot of strides.
“Any player who comes off an injury like that is going to struggle a little bit, with the timing and everything. But I told her to look at the big picture, don’t expect to come back and be perfect by any means. But having her back on the court will give us confidence.”
Until then, the Boilermakers are trying to rest up as much as possible. April Wilson says the days after games are most important, recovering enough to be able to practice full for a day before playing again.
“It comes down to your mentality,” Wilson said. “Everyone in the conference is going through the same thing and your body is wearing down. It’s the name of the game, you’re going to be fatigued, but you’ve got to let the mental mindset take over the physical.”
Not telling: A year ago, Wilson told only a few that she had a broken rib that was hindering her play.
The senior point guard has aggrevated something – she played 24 minutes Wednesday after scoring 48 points in a full 80 minutes the two previous games – but she’s again not going to talk about it.
“I’m good, that’s the best (answer) I can give you,” Wilson said.
Get going: When Purdue (15-5 overall, 6-3 in the Big Ten) plays Penn State (8-12, 3-6) at 2 p.m. Saturday, the Boilermakers want to get out and run.
They weren’t able to do so against Michigan State, which scored too easily and got too many offensive boards when it missed.
“Michigan State, we didn’t get stops, they scored at will and got offensive boards,” Versyp said. “So we couldn’t get transition game going – we didn’t score in transition but one time – so that’s going to be a key. Boxing out and handling them on the offensive boards, because they’re very athletic. And for us, attack the heck out of them on the offensive end.”
Last edited:
