Whitney Bays wasn't expecting to play Sunday.
But after a morning shoot-around, the senior forward was feeling well - or at least well enough - to give it a go against Dayton. So, despite a back injury exacerbated in a big collision days earlier vs. Florida State, Bays played against the Flyers. And she played well, scoring 19 points with 18 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, albeit in a 63-61 Purdue loss.
"It was a big game," said Bays, whose Boilermaker team sits 3-4 following the defeat and hosts Kansas at 7 p.m. Thursday. "We need some wins now. I thought that was a good game for me to come back and play. It was on the road, a tough environment. I just really wanted to do it, and it's my last year. I didn't want to have any regrets and look back and say 'Oh, I should have played in that game. I should have tried.' I was feeling pretty good that day, so I told coach."
Now, Bays will have to continue to manage the back injury. It's an issue that's plagued her, she says, throughout her basketball career, only adding to the litany of injuries she's suffered. The knees, which kept her out of couple seasons, have been the biggest problems, but she had offseason foot surgery in the spring, as well. And now the back that's flaring again.
Following her collision vs. the Seminoles - at the end of the first half, she set a screen, but was hit hard by an FSU player, leaving both sprawled on the floor - she sat out practice, rehabbing twice a day.
Coach Sharon Versyp says her senior forward is still day-to-day, because the back could tighten. It's likely that Bays will practice every other day, or so.
"It's not like 'Oh, it was a miraculous recovery,'" Versyp said. "She's going to have to deal with it all season. The biggest thing is trying to rehab, but she's got to be able to practice a day then be off a day.
"We're doing everything possible to keep her as healthy as possible."
Bays, who is averaging 12.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, says she probably should have pulled herself from the Florida State game. She was grabbing at the lower back earlier in the game, trying to loosen up, before the collision knocked her out of the overtime loss.
"I'm hardheaded and love the game so much," she said. "I've been hurt so much, so it's knowing your tolerance, playing smart and being smart."
• A quick look at Purdue's first-half performances vs. second during the three-game losing streak shows stark differences, especially defensively.
The three opponents - George Washington, FSU and Dayton - have shot nearly 48 percent combined in the first halves to build big leads, but only 40 percent in the second. And that's even more pronounced against the Seminoles and Flyers, who shot only 33 percent after halftime.
"We play defense," Versyp said of the reason Purdue has played better after the break. "That first (half) we have existed (only), then we get that sense of urgency. We have to find the character, get inspired, have players who want to play hard every single second and bring this team along, and that's the difference.
"They want to do it when I get crazy at half time and they're down. It doesn't make sense. We keep going back to the drawing board. The kids are taking responsibility; the coaches are taking responsibility. We're right there. Like I tell the kids, we're three shots away, or one extra rebound, a charge, which we have not taken. An extra hustle play, it doesn't always have to come down to an offensive play. It's defense."
The Boilermakers' shooting hasn't been the best during the losing streak, either, as they've made less than 33 percent of their shots. But Versyp thinks that will come. They can improve more immediately, the ninth-year coach says, on the defensive end.
It might help the slow starts. Purdue has been down 7-0 (vs. Dayton), 8-1 (Florida State) and 8-2 (George Washington).
"It's on us," Versyp said. "You can't be down by nine, 13 and 17 (at points in those games) and expect that you're going to come back and win all those games. But when you put yourself in that position (of close losses), then it's even more heartbreaking. We've had looks, but we've had to expend so much energy to come back. It's more defense. We can't let people score who aren't scorers.
"It's about getting another stop, getting a loose ball, taking a charge, doing all those things. Our offense will come. But it's about getting off to a good start defensively from the get-go. When you put all the pressure on shooting and shooting, then it becomes a negative habit. My focus is the other things."
• Sophomore Bridget Perry wanted to be a little more aggressive offensively.
And a lot more aggressive on the boards. She was both against the Flyers, recording career highs in points (15) and rebounds (eight).
"Coach really challenged us at halftime to be more aggressive," Perry said, "and I followed that."
Perry's work on the glass was critical and will continue to be so. Purdue's been beaten there too often, being outrebounded on the season by an average of 1.6 boards per game. But with Perry's eight, the Boilermakers held a 51-41 edge over the Flyers.
It was a breakout, as Perry had only 13 boards in the six games previously.
"I was kind of frustrated with my rebounding earlier in the season, just because I felt like I was crashing and just wasn't getting the boards that the team needed me to get," she said. "A 6-foot-2 guard, I need to get offensive rebounds, and defensive rebounds, for the team, so doing that and fulfilling a role was a good thing."
This post was edited on 12/11 12:08 PM by Kyle_GoldandBlack.com
But after a morning shoot-around, the senior forward was feeling well - or at least well enough - to give it a go against Dayton. So, despite a back injury exacerbated in a big collision days earlier vs. Florida State, Bays played against the Flyers. And she played well, scoring 19 points with 18 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, albeit in a 63-61 Purdue loss.
"It was a big game," said Bays, whose Boilermaker team sits 3-4 following the defeat and hosts Kansas at 7 p.m. Thursday. "We need some wins now. I thought that was a good game for me to come back and play. It was on the road, a tough environment. I just really wanted to do it, and it's my last year. I didn't want to have any regrets and look back and say 'Oh, I should have played in that game. I should have tried.' I was feeling pretty good that day, so I told coach."
Now, Bays will have to continue to manage the back injury. It's an issue that's plagued her, she says, throughout her basketball career, only adding to the litany of injuries she's suffered. The knees, which kept her out of couple seasons, have been the biggest problems, but she had offseason foot surgery in the spring, as well. And now the back that's flaring again.
Following her collision vs. the Seminoles - at the end of the first half, she set a screen, but was hit hard by an FSU player, leaving both sprawled on the floor - she sat out practice, rehabbing twice a day.
Coach Sharon Versyp says her senior forward is still day-to-day, because the back could tighten. It's likely that Bays will practice every other day, or so.
"It's not like 'Oh, it was a miraculous recovery,'" Versyp said. "She's going to have to deal with it all season. The biggest thing is trying to rehab, but she's got to be able to practice a day then be off a day.
"We're doing everything possible to keep her as healthy as possible."
Bays, who is averaging 12.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, says she probably should have pulled herself from the Florida State game. She was grabbing at the lower back earlier in the game, trying to loosen up, before the collision knocked her out of the overtime loss.
"I'm hardheaded and love the game so much," she said. "I've been hurt so much, so it's knowing your tolerance, playing smart and being smart."
• A quick look at Purdue's first-half performances vs. second during the three-game losing streak shows stark differences, especially defensively.
The three opponents - George Washington, FSU and Dayton - have shot nearly 48 percent combined in the first halves to build big leads, but only 40 percent in the second. And that's even more pronounced against the Seminoles and Flyers, who shot only 33 percent after halftime.
"We play defense," Versyp said of the reason Purdue has played better after the break. "That first (half) we have existed (only), then we get that sense of urgency. We have to find the character, get inspired, have players who want to play hard every single second and bring this team along, and that's the difference.
"They want to do it when I get crazy at half time and they're down. It doesn't make sense. We keep going back to the drawing board. The kids are taking responsibility; the coaches are taking responsibility. We're right there. Like I tell the kids, we're three shots away, or one extra rebound, a charge, which we have not taken. An extra hustle play, it doesn't always have to come down to an offensive play. It's defense."
The Boilermakers' shooting hasn't been the best during the losing streak, either, as they've made less than 33 percent of their shots. But Versyp thinks that will come. They can improve more immediately, the ninth-year coach says, on the defensive end.
It might help the slow starts. Purdue has been down 7-0 (vs. Dayton), 8-1 (Florida State) and 8-2 (George Washington).
"It's on us," Versyp said. "You can't be down by nine, 13 and 17 (at points in those games) and expect that you're going to come back and win all those games. But when you put yourself in that position (of close losses), then it's even more heartbreaking. We've had looks, but we've had to expend so much energy to come back. It's more defense. We can't let people score who aren't scorers.
"It's about getting another stop, getting a loose ball, taking a charge, doing all those things. Our offense will come. But it's about getting off to a good start defensively from the get-go. When you put all the pressure on shooting and shooting, then it becomes a negative habit. My focus is the other things."
• Sophomore Bridget Perry wanted to be a little more aggressive offensively.
And a lot more aggressive on the boards. She was both against the Flyers, recording career highs in points (15) and rebounds (eight).
"Coach really challenged us at halftime to be more aggressive," Perry said, "and I followed that."
Perry's work on the glass was critical and will continue to be so. Purdue's been beaten there too often, being outrebounded on the season by an average of 1.6 boards per game. But with Perry's eight, the Boilermakers held a 51-41 edge over the Flyers.
It was a breakout, as Perry had only 13 boards in the six games previously.
"I was kind of frustrated with my rebounding earlier in the season, just because I felt like I was crashing and just wasn't getting the boards that the team needed me to get," she said. "A 6-foot-2 guard, I need to get offensive rebounds, and defensive rebounds, for the team, so doing that and fulfilling a role was a good thing."
This post was edited on 12/11 12:08 PM by Kyle_GoldandBlack.com
