While the record may not be where anyone on the Purdue women’s basketball team had hoped, not all is lost when it comes to the play and development of a talented freshman class.
At 9-11 overall and in the midst of a six game losing streak, Purdue will look to turn things around Wednesday night when it travels to Nebraska. Of the losses, five have been by 10 points or less, including a 71-68 weekend loss to Ohio State for the Purdue women’s basketball team.
“January 2 was the last time we won and that is the only thing on my mind. We haven’t won since Jan. 2. Losing is not great. Our team is still living in the moment and believe they can win. It’s not like we come to practice and half ass anything. This group works hard, they bought into our game plan and believe. We have had a terrible stretch. Our last three home games were against Top 15 teams,” Purdue coach Katie Gearlds said after the Ohio State game.
Despite the loses, there have been some major bright spots when it comes to the play of the freshmen, especially Rashunda Jones and Mary Ashley Stevens, both of whom put up big numbers against the Buckeyes. Jones scored 13 points, ripped down three rebounds and dished out two assists in 24 minutes off the bench. It was her eighth time scoring in double figures off the bench. As for Stevenson, she scored 12 points and recorded seven rebounds.
“We talk a lot about our young kids and their maturation. The next step is to bring that on the road.
Everyone else is seeing the toughness that Mary Ashley plays with,” Gearlds said.
Jones, Stevenson ready for wins
Losing is something that is new for both Jones and Stevenson, as both played high school basketball at a very high level and for respectable programs.
Stevenson was the runner up for New York Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year, while winning back to back state titles at Dalton School. Jones, on the other hand, was a standout player in-state at South Bend Washington, where she was an Indiana Miss Basketball finalist and helped lead Washington to a state title as a junior.
And, the two are committed to bringing that kind of success to Purdue.
“What coach is building is very special. We have a special freshman class. Once we get in, we know our role and what to do. Us being able to lay down our foundation, that sets the tone for how next year will be,” Jones said.
Stevens echoed those sentiments.
“We have talked a lot this year about culture and identity. Our freshman group has a lot of culture and identity. We are going through a hard time right now, a stretch of losses, but we have a lot of motivation. Every game we are giving it our all. We are figuring out a way to build that culture and identity of winning,” Stevens said.
“Losing has been tough”
Both admitted the current set of losses have stung, and it is something they are looking to change immediately.
“It is never good to lose, nobody likes to lose. It sucks no matter if we lose by 30 or 1. It doesn’t matter. Just with us with our backgrounds and how we come from winning programs, you can see it when we are playing. Coach KG is trying to bring that to this program. We are trying to win,” Jones said.
Stevens said the losing has been “tough.”
“It’s tough, I am not going to lie. There are a lot of moments where we are just like gosh. It’s tough to play in the Big Ten. It’s not a surprise every game is a fight to the death. We are learning so much from these games and even though we are losing, I am gaining confidence. We are going to get there,” Stevens said.
Nebraska is up next for freshmen, Purdue
And, that begins Wednesday at Nebraska.
“We have to grind every possession,” Jones said.
For Stevens, it starts with bringing a certain mentality to Lincoln.
“The mentality is we are right there. We are going toe to toe with the best teams in our conference. We have to find a way to make our performances equivalent and parallel to home and on the road. There are teams we can beat in this conference and we have to beat and we can 100 percent beat. We just have to be ready on the road,” Stevens said.
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