WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team will head west to face future Big Ten foe UCLA on the opening night of the 2023-24 college basketball season, Nov. 6, at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
The game against the Bruins is the first announced contest of the Boilermakers' 2023-24 campaign. Future opponents and dates will be announced later.
The season opener will mark the second time in three seasons under head coach Katie Gearlds that Purdue will start the year on the road.
The Boilermakers own a 2-1 all-time record against UCLA. Gearlds played in all three contests against the Bruins from 2003 to 2006, averaging 10.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and four assists in the series. The last time the two programs met was in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament at Mackey Arena, when Purdue pulled away to a 61-54 win behind Gearlds' team-high 15 points.
Purdue will open the season in California for the first time since a two-game swing to start the 1996-97 season at Loyola Marymount and Stanford. The Boilermakers hold a 12-9 mark in games played in The Golden State, including the 1999 NCAA Championship Game in San Jose.
The Boilermakers will start a campaign against a Pac-12 opponent for the first time since Nov. 19, 1994, against Stanford.
Gearlds enters her third season at the helm of her alma mater after leading the Boilermakers to the postseason in back-to-back campaigns. Last season, Purdue returned to the NCAA Tournament for the 27th time and finished the year with a 19-11 record. The Boilermakers recorded back-to-back ranked wins against No. 22 Illinois and No. 2 Ohio State, the latter being the first true road win against an AP top-5 team in program history.
Purdue returns five players from last year's roster, including All-Big Ten Second Team selection Jeanae Terry and Abbey Ellis, who garnered an honorable mention nod from the league.
Gearlds brought in eight newcomers for the 2023-24 season. The five freshman who signed for the Boilermakers in November were tabbed the No. 21 class by ESPNW. In the spring, Purdue added incoming freshman Amiyah Reynolds and Maryland transfer Mila Reynolds, both top-60 recruits, to the fold. Grand Canyon transfer and sixth-year senior Caitlyn Harper's younger sister Alaina Harper inked her transfer to West Lafayette in May.
Purdue's roster will feature three sets of sisters – the Reynolds and Harpers, as well as McKenna Layden and Madison Layden.
In addition to the host of newcomers on the court, Gearlds added serious firepower to her coaching staff with associate head coach and Purdue great, Kelly Komara from Marquette, as well as assistant coach and recruiting director Mark Stephens from Toledo.
Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are officially on sale. For more information, click here.
UCLA reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season behind a 27-10 record. The Bruins fell in the Pac-12 Championship Game after finishing fourth in the regular season. Bolstered by Stanford transfer Lauren Betts and the No. 1 recruiting class in 2022, UCLA will enter the season presumably ranked in the top 5 nationally and a favorite to win the PAC-12 in their final year as a member.