After Purdue’s win over Indiana Sunday, IU coach Teri Moren called Andreona Keys a “junkyard dog.”
The term, used to describe a player who does the less-glamorous work, like defense, rebounding, etc., is embraced by Keys.
“That’s one of the biggest compliments ever,” the sophomore wing said. “I never thought of myself as a junkyard dog, but now that I do (think about it) I know that I do kind of do the dirty work. It’s a compliment.”
Keys is playing like it right now. In the last two games, she is averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds per game, having a double-double – 10 points and 11 boards – in Sunday’s win over Indiana.
But just as much as the numbers, Keys is impacting Purdue in more intangible ways. She’s frequently defending one of the opponent’s best offensive players – splitting those duties with April Wilson – and is physical, tough and aggressive.
“More persistence than anything,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “Just a relentless attitude defensively, on the defensive and offensive boards, and just running the floor exceptionally well. She’s been able to get out. And to be a great rebounder, you can’t always be the first one down the floor but I think she’s done a phenomenal job of seizing her opportunities and her growth is just amazing.”
Keys’ game as picked up of late. In the four Big Ten wins, she’s averaging 11.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, the latter being the best on the Boilermakers. And her shooting is up, as well, clipping at a 43-percent rate in the conference, bringing the overall percent to 40.
The 5-foot-10 wing is getting a lot of her points by going to the basket – not a bad thing – but she’s probably a better shooter than she’s shown. She missed all 15 of her non-conference three-pointers, before hitting 3 of 8 in the Big Ten.
“We talk about it all the time and I’m like ‘Last year I did not have this problem,’” she said. “I was confident I was going to make them. Now, it’s more mental. I just need to get it out of my head and shoot the ball.
“Every practice or every game, I would go up to Coach (Nadine) Morgan and say ‘I’m oh-of-18 from three.’ And she would say ‘Stop thinking about that. You can’t do anything about that now, move on to the next one.’ And I think that has been messing with me a little bit.”
Regardless, Keys is positively affecting the Boilermakers, even if the shot isn’t falling as consistently as she’d like. She likes being that “glue” player, one who does whatever is needed.
“It doesn’t matter if she’s not scoring, she’s going to get it some other way, whether it’s rebounding, defensively,” senior Torrie Thornton said. “Definitely a player on our team who is holding everything together and doing the little things.”
It’s a guard-oriented attack, led by Rachel Banham (23.4 points per game) and Carlie Wagner (19.7), and the Gophers have made 143 three-pointers this season, 22 more than Illinois, which has the second-most in the league.
They make them at only a 33.9-percent rate (seventh in the Big Ten) but are shooting it a ton.
“We’ve got to limit opportunities,” Versyp said. “Our defense and our transition defense have to continue to be good and even better. And we have to do a better job now of our guards boxing out. Our posts are doing a good job – and Keys and Bridget (Perry) – in every category, but we’ve got to be able to box their guards out because they’re so aggressive and they get the offensive boards.”
The captain was out of the Northwestern game, then played only seven minutes vs. Indiana. It stemmed, she said, from something she did in the weight room, although she couldn’t recall exactly how.
“A random thing,” Thornton said. “I went to sleep and the next day it was super tight and I couldn’t move it. I don’t exactly if that was it, but I remember doing something up there that tweaked it a little bit.”
Thornton, who had eight points and eight rebounds in a win over Illinois before the injury, played in the IU game Sunday, having two rebounds, a point and an assist in her seven minutes. But her first practice back was on Tuesday, two days later. She’s getting better now, after having experienced back spasms.
“Hope I never get them again,” she said. “It was rough. I couldn’t bend over, sit down, none of that. Of course, it’s another injury, but it’s OK, nothing too serious.”
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