If Game 1 was an indication, Andreona Keys is ready to step into a bigger role.
The freshman is filling in as a starter for Bridget Perry - the sophomore is out at least a month with a high ankle sprain - doing so for the first time against Iowa on Sunday. In the loss, the wing had nine points and a career-high seven rebounds.
"I knew Coach (Sharon Versyp), before Bridget even got hurt, said 'We need more from you,'" Keys said. "So the whole time I thought I needed to step it up a notch. Then, obviously getting put in the starting lineup, I was like 'OK, I need to give my team more with Bridget out.' (Her) rebounding and scoring are gone, so I need to make up for that and do my part."
Keys will likely make her second start against Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Thursday. The rookie's production has been a pleasant addition to the Boilermakers this season, after she had missed her junior year at Roswell High School in Georgia with a knee injury; that likely was one of the reasons she was the lowest-ranked of Purdue's incoming class.
But she's frequently played beyond her years in her first season. The 5-foot-10 wing is averaging 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, and three times she's scored in double-figures.
Against Iowa, Keys was aggressive, hitting two of her five field goal attempts - she got to the line four times, hitting all - while grabbing the seven boards.
"If she plays like she did against Iowa, I'll be very, very happy," Versyp said. "She went above and beyond. It was her best rebounding game, a really strong offensive game but she has never had to play that hard and attack and get those rebounds and she was able to attack the basket, missed some bunnies but she'll hit those next time.
"The hardest thing in anything is staying consistent, especially as a freshman, but really pleased with how she's elevated her game and stepped up for a teammate."
Now it'll be about that consistency. Perry was averaging 9.3 points and four rebounds before she was hurt, giving Purdue an attacking presence who could open up options for others. Keys will try to do the same.
"I think I can give us some more points, score if I need to, rebounding is definitely an emphasis that Coach V has for us," she said. "Crash the offensive boards, defensive rebounds, all of that, and being aggressive, locking down someone, limiting someone."
Keys says she's now more willing to try to have that kind of influence. At first, as a freshman, she wanted to defer to others, picking her spots carefully; she can't be so passive now.
"Starting out I was a little frantic, just didn't want to do too much," she said. "But my teammates, they just want me to go, they want me to be loose, play and do what I do best. They don't have a problem with that."
The freshman is filling in as a starter for Bridget Perry - the sophomore is out at least a month with a high ankle sprain - doing so for the first time against Iowa on Sunday. In the loss, the wing had nine points and a career-high seven rebounds.
"I knew Coach (Sharon Versyp), before Bridget even got hurt, said 'We need more from you,'" Keys said. "So the whole time I thought I needed to step it up a notch. Then, obviously getting put in the starting lineup, I was like 'OK, I need to give my team more with Bridget out.' (Her) rebounding and scoring are gone, so I need to make up for that and do my part."
Keys will likely make her second start against Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Thursday. The rookie's production has been a pleasant addition to the Boilermakers this season, after she had missed her junior year at Roswell High School in Georgia with a knee injury; that likely was one of the reasons she was the lowest-ranked of Purdue's incoming class.
But she's frequently played beyond her years in her first season. The 5-foot-10 wing is averaging 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, and three times she's scored in double-figures.
Against Iowa, Keys was aggressive, hitting two of her five field goal attempts - she got to the line four times, hitting all - while grabbing the seven boards.
"If she plays like she did against Iowa, I'll be very, very happy," Versyp said. "She went above and beyond. It was her best rebounding game, a really strong offensive game but she has never had to play that hard and attack and get those rebounds and she was able to attack the basket, missed some bunnies but she'll hit those next time.
"The hardest thing in anything is staying consistent, especially as a freshman, but really pleased with how she's elevated her game and stepped up for a teammate."
Now it'll be about that consistency. Perry was averaging 9.3 points and four rebounds before she was hurt, giving Purdue an attacking presence who could open up options for others. Keys will try to do the same.
"I think I can give us some more points, score if I need to, rebounding is definitely an emphasis that Coach V has for us," she said. "Crash the offensive boards, defensive rebounds, all of that, and being aggressive, locking down someone, limiting someone."
Keys says she's now more willing to try to have that kind of influence. At first, as a freshman, she wanted to defer to others, picking her spots carefully; she can't be so passive now.
"Starting out I was a little frantic, just didn't want to do too much," she said. "But my teammates, they just want me to go, they want me to be loose, play and do what I do best. They don't have a problem with that."
