Purdue wants to prove the NCAA wrong.
It can’t do it in the Dance, however. Instead, the Boilermakers will have to in the WNIT, starting with their game at 7 p.m. Thursday against IUPUI in The Jungle.
“Win it,” senior Andreona Keys said of the 64-team WNIT, “that’s how you show (the NCAA Committee) that we should have been in. The disappointment, you go, (take that and) win the tournament.”
Even though Purdue was one of the “first four out” of the NCAA — and perhaps even the 65th team — the WNIT won’t be an easy run. The Boilermakers (18-13) play their first two games on the road, if there is a second game, with the winner of Purdue-IUPUI playing either Ball State or Middle Tennessee.
The Boilermakers don’t mind being on the road, where they won four of their biggest games of the season, including three games against ranked opponents.
“We play a lot better,” Key said. “So if we have to go and get away, that’s fine. It’s spring break and you want to get away anyway, so let’s go and play a tournament.”
But Purdue’s mindset, more than the environment or maybe even the Jaguars (22-9), could be the biggest key. The Boilermakers practiced Tuesday following the Monday night selection show, which they watched in the locker room. Undoubtedly, it was a room marked by frustration.
“We talked about that (Monday) night, that now we just have to move on,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “The parameters of what they tell you is nothing like what happened last night, at all. So now we just have to refocus, we can still play and we can still play for a championship. We’re a young group so it’s good and it’s good to be on the road for the first couple games when we’re in spring break.”
Purdue’s youth should benefit from the tournament experience. The Boilermakers have four freshmen and sophomores in their starting lineup, with Keys. And while the senior only wants to extend her Purdue career as long as possible, the tournament could hold additional value for the underclassmen.
“You want to play in postseason and get the feel for winning a couple games, because that’s want you’re always vying for in the NCAA, you want to get to the Sweet 16,” Versyp said. “I think there’s a lot of people who aren’t playing right now, and that’s what we talk about, we still have opportunities. We’re still together practicing and working out and we can extend our season as long as we can.”
Home later?
Presuming it wins Thursday, Purdue will play its second-round WNIT game — on Saturday-Monday — at either Ball State or Middle Tennessee.
But the third-round game could be in Mackey Arena. But Purdue might only get that opportunity if it’s the highest seed; it might not be if Indiana — the Hoosiers got the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the WNIT due to their higher conference tournament seeding — is the opponent.
“You get put in to host in later rounds,” Versyp said, “but if others are a higher seed in your bracket, they usually get it.”
Purdue had not put in a bid to host in the first couple rounds of the WNIT.
Scouting the Jags
IUPUI finished second in the Horizon League with a 13-5 record, then lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
The Jaguars will likely be a formidable opponent, and not intimidated either; they won in Mackey Arena last season.
And IUPUI smoked Ohio by 24 in December, eight days before the Bobcats upset the Boilermakers in Mackey Arena.
“They play hard, they’re scrappy,” Versyp said of Austin Parkinson’s team. “They play a man-to-man 97 percent of the time. They do good on the boards. We have to match their intensity when we go there. We have to utilize getting the ball inside a lot. We have to be able to knock down outside shots. They’ll help early, so we have to be able to knock down shots. From the start, we have to set the tone, that’s the biggest thing.”
IUPUI, which holds opponents to only 58.4 points per game, has a trio of scorers, led by senior guard Danielle Lawrence’s 17.3 points per game. Macee Williams is the inside presence, as the 6-foot-2 freshman is averaging 13 points and 7.7 rebounds.
“She does a nice job,” Versyp said. “They get her the ball and she’s patient and smart. She’s a lefty, so she likes going to the left, taking three or four dribbles and backing you down. We have to be mindful that she’s a lefty, use our size and do a few other things that hopefully disrupt that.”
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