Jan. 9, 2002
Jan. 9, 2002
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#13/#14 Purdue (11-3, 2-2) vs. Minnesota (12-2, 2-1)West Lafayette, Ind.Mackey Arena (14,123)Jan. 10, 20027 p.m. EST
ALL-TIME RECORD: 472-286 (.623)
BIG TEN RECORD: 214-118 (.645)
SERIES RECORD: Purdue leads 27-10.
THE LAST TIME: Purdue won the 2001 Big Ten regular season title outright with a 96-43 victory against Minnesota on Feb. 18, 2001. A Mackey Arena crowd of 12,264 was on hand to witness the Purdue Class of 2001 win its 105th game and accept its second conference trophy in its four-year tenure. The Boilermakers shot 52.3 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three-point range, connecting on 12 of 18 attempts. Minnesota, meanwhile, shot 32.6 percent from the field, made 1 of 9 three-pointers (.111) and turned the ball over 24 times. Katie Douglas led all players with 21 points. She was one of five Purdue players in double figures.
A LOOK AT THE BOILERMAKERS: Purdue is 11-3 and 2-2 in the Big Ten after dropping a 90-75 decision to Iowa in Iowa City on Jan. 6. Sophomore forward Shereka Wright tied a career high with 26 points, but Purdue's defense allowed the Hawkeyes 59.2 percent shooting from the field and 60 percent shooting from three-point range in the loss. Four Purdue players fouled out of the contest, which was Purdue's third conference game on the road in four outings. Wright leads the Boilermakers, averaging 18.2 points per game. Senior forward Laura Meadows leads in rebounding (7.1), while senior guard Kelly Komara leads in assists (5.0) and steals (3.9). The Boilermakers are coached by Kristy Curry, who is 65-18 overall and 27-9 in the Big Ten in three years in West Lafayette.
A LOOK AT THE GOLDEN GOPHERS: Minnesota is 12-2 and 2-1 in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers have won their last two in a row over Illinois and Michigan State, most recently dropping the Spartans 70-69 in East Lansing. Lindsay Whalen made a layup with 1.9 seconds left to steal the victory. Whalen leads Minnesota, averaging 20.9 points per game. She is one of four Golden Gophers averaging in double figures. Another is freshman Janel McCarville, who averages 12.1 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game. Minnesota is coached by Brenda Oldfield, who is in her first year at the helm of the Golden Gophers. She is 47-24 in three years as a collegiate head coach. She spent her first two years as a head coach at Ball State.
ON THE HORIZON: Purdue will host Ohio State on Jan. 13. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Chicago and will tip off at 1 p.m. EST. On Jan. 17, the Boilermakers hit the road to take on Indiana in Bloomington.
SERIES NOTES: Purdue and Minnesota have met 37 times, with the Boilermakers holding a 27-10 advantage ... The Boilermakers have won the last 11 meetings ... Purdue leads the series in West Lafayette 15-3, with the 15 wins coming consecutively and by an average of 23.8 points (82.1-58.3) ... Minnesota's last win in the series was Jan. 8, 1995 ... The Golden Gophers' last win in Mackey Arena came on Jan. 6, 1985 ... Since that date, the slimmest margin of defeat Purdue has handed Minnesota is eight points (72-64 on Feb. 21, 1993), the largest is 53 (96-43 on Feb. 21, 2001) ... Kristy Curry is 4-0 against Minnesota ... Brenda Oldfield is 0-0 against Purdue.
MACKEY MAGIC: Purdue is 248-88 all-time in Mackey Arena. That is a winning percentage of .738. Since 1986-87, the Boilermakers are 185-28 at home (.869). Since 1994-95, when the Big Ten schedule was pared to 16 games, the Boilermakers are 51-6 (.895) in conference home games. Conversely, Purdue is 38-21 on the road (.644). Purdue is 6-0 at home this season.
STREAK SPEAK: Purdue has won 18 straight games in Mackey Arena since a 68-63 loss to No. 11 Louisiana Tech in the Preseason WNIT championship game on Nov. 20, 2000. The Boilermakers' longest home winning streak is 21 games (Feb. 20, 1998 to Dec. 8, 1999). The Boilermakers have won 16 straight Big Ten home games, with the last loss coming to No. 6 Penn State (55-50) on Jan. 6, 2000.
THE RANK AND FILE: Minnesota is 0-2 against ranked teams this season, having lost at No. 7 Stanford (96-65) and to No. 24 Penn State (88-83). Purdue is 9-1 against unranked teams, with the one negative coming in its last outing at Iowa on Jan. 6. The Boilermakers are 5-0 against unranked teams in Mackey Arena this season, and haven't lost to an unranked team on their home court since a 62-60 loss to Michigan on Feb. 8, 1998.
PRESEASON FAVORITE: Purdue was picked as the preseason favorite to win the 2002 Big Ten title. In the coaches' poll, the Boilermakers were picked to share the crown with Michigan, followed by Wisconsin. The media picked Purdue, followed by Penn State and Iowa. Only the top three schools in both polls are released.
BIG TEN'S BEST: Since the 1990-91 season, Purdue has dominated the Big Ten. The Boilermakers have a 144-44 conference record with six Big Ten championships over the last10 years (1991, '94, '95, '97, '99 and '01). Iowa ranks second with a 128-60 record and four Big Ten titles. Overall, Purdue has a Big Ten-best 277-85 record since 1990-91.
STREAK SNAPPED: Fourteenth-ranked Wisconsin snapped Purdue's nine-game win streak on Dec. 28. The streak was the fifth-longest in school history, one shy of tying for the third-longest. The 1998-99 and 1999-2000 Boilermakers set the school and Big Ten record with 36 straight wins over the two seasons. That string ranks fourth in NCAA history.
DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY: Big Ten teams with title hopes have no need to panic if they have less than spectacular conference records to date. In the 19-year history of Big Ten championships for women's basketball, trophies have gone to teams with two or more losses 11 times. Two-loss teams have won in six years, three-loss teams in four years. The most losses a Big Ten champion has had is four (by Illinois, Michigan State and Purdue in 1996-97). Of Purdue's six Big Ten titles, four have come with two or more defeats.
STOP IT: Purdue's last loss to Iowa was its third straight to the Hawkeyes. The Boilermakers had not lost three in a row to a Big Ten opponent since dropping a trio to Indiana over the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. Before that, the most recent three-game losing streak came to Northwestern over the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. The Boilermakers have lost at least three straight to every Big Ten opponent, but have multiple three-plus losing streaks against just three teams: Michigan State, Northwestern and Penn State.
HOMELAND SECURITY: Tom Ridge won't be needed on Thursday. While Purdue has struggled defensively on the road, the Boilermakers have sparkled at home. Purdue has allowed six opponents an average of 47.5 points per game on 34.2 percent shooting from the field, 27.2 percent shooting from three-point range and 59.3 percent shooting from the free throw line in Mackey Arena. The last time out, the Boilermakers held the highly potent Michigan offense to 47 points on 36 percent shooting (off its previous average of 49.1).
SPLINTERED: Purdue's bench players have struggled recently. Purdue's bench is averaging 13.8 points per game, but only 5.8 in four Big Ten games. The Boilermaker starters have accounted for 81.2 percent of Purdue's offense overall, and 91.8 percent of the offense in conference games. Four starters are averaging in double figures.
THE WRONG WAY: Purdue's shooting numbers have dropped in every offensive and defensive category from its first 10 games against non-conference opponents to its last four against Big Ten teams. Here's how the offensive numbers compare from good to bad - FG%: 44.9-43.8, 3FG%: 29.7-26.0, FT%: 71.4-62.9. Here's how the defensive numbers compare - DFG%: 36.0-45.1, D3FG%: 31.7-42.9, DFT%: 66.4-67.4.
TRENDS: The Boilermakers are 11-0 when they make more free throws than their opponent ... Purdue is 11-0 when holding teams to less than 70 points ... Purdue is 8-1 when it outrebounds its opponent ... The Boilermakers are 8-1 when leading at the half, 3-2 when trailing at the half.
HEAD COACH KRISTY CURRY: Kristy Curry is in her third year as Purdue head coach. She is 65-18 overall and 27-9 in the Big Ten. Curry, a 35-year-old native of Olla., La., took the Boilermakers to the national championship game in her sophomore season, becoming only the second coach in NCAA history to reach the title game in just two years as a head coach. Former Purdue coach Carolyn Peck was the other (in 1999). Curry, the first coach in NCAA history to inherit a national champion team, stacks up well against the top names in the game. With 54 victories in just two seasons, she had a more productive two-year career than any of the top-10 winningest coaches of all time.
WRIGHT ON: Sophomore Shereka Wright, a preseason Naismith Award candidate and All-Big Ten selection, leads Purdue in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game. The 5-foot-10 forward enjoyed a career performance at No. 18 LSU on Dec. 2, charting personal bests in points (26), rebounds (9, tie) and blocked shots (4). She tied her career high with 26 points at Iowa on Jan. 6. Wright is Purdue's most frequent free throw shooter. She has connected on 82 of 111 attempts (.739) and has gotten to the line 47 more times than her nearest teammate (Mary Jo Noon, 64).
A FOR Z: Kelly Komara, nicknamed "Z," has been consistent for the Boilermakers, averaging 12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, a team-high 5.0 assists and a conference-best 3.9 steals. She has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games, has led the Boilermakers in assists 11 times and steals nine times. The 5-foot-7 guard has played in 118 consecutive games (83 starts), and currently ranks in the top 10 all-time in three-pointers, three-point percentage, steals and assists.
ROLLING MEADOWS: Senior Laura Meadows is rolling for the Boilermakers. The 6-foot-3 forward leads Purdue in rebounding (7.1), ranks second in assists (3.5), steals (2.1) and blocked shots (1.1), and ranks fourth in scoring (10.4). She enjoyed a season-best performance at Northwestern on Jan. 3, scoring 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field (2-for-2 3FG). She added a career-high tying five steals against the Wildcats. Meadows, who recorded double-doubles this season against Valparaiso and at Tulane, now has 11 double-dips in her career after recording nine in three years at Kentucky.
HIGH NOON: Junior center Mary Jo Noon scored a game- and career-high 23 points against North Texas on Dec. 8. Two days earlier, she scored a game-high 21 points with a game- and career-high 13 rebounds against Notre Dame. The 6-foot-5 Noon, who has averaged 19 points in her last two outings at Northwestern and Iowa, is averaging 12.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game. She played a career-high 27 minutes in Evanston.
EASY E: Sophomore Erika Valek continues to rehabilitate and recover from knee surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered during the 2001 NCAA Tournament. She has started all 14 regular season games, averaging 28.2 minutes. She played a career-high 34 minutes at No. 18 LSU on Dec. 2 and at DePaul on Dec. 17. Valek, who scored a career-high 21 points against UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 15, is averaging 6.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists. She set her season-high assist mark with six at Northwestern on Jan. 3.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES: One of the Boilermakers' best long-range shooters, 5-foot-9 sophomore guard Beth Jones is shooting 37.2 percent from downtown. She has made 16 of 43 attempts, with six of those 16 coming against Southern Mississippi on Nov. 25. Jones finished with a career-high 22 against the Golden Eagles. Her six three-pointers against Southern Mississippi tied a Mackey Arena record and was one shy of Stephanie White-McCarty's single game record set Dec. 21, 1998 at Florida.
HUT, HUT, HEIKES: Freshman Emily Heikes, a native of Palos Hills, Ill., a 6-foot forward, has come off the bench to average 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game. Heikes scored a season-high 10 points with six rebounds against Notre Dame on Dec. 6, then matched her points effort with 10 against North Texas on Dec. 8. Her season-high rebounds mark is eight, set at DePaul on Dec. 17, and at Iowa on Jan. 6.