As the regular season wound down and Purdue women’s basketball was preparing for the Big Ten Conference Women’s Tournament, head coach Katie Gearlds was asked about a postseason possibility for her team.
And, while it looked dismal at the time and Gearlds said she would welcome any opportunity to continue playing, Purdue women’s basketball got a shot in the Women’s NIT and made the most of the opportunity Monday night, defeating Butler, 62-51 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. With the victory, the Boilermakers improved to 14-18 and will now host Duquesne at 7 p.m. in the Super 16 of the WNIT at 7 p.m. More information on tickets will be released Tuesday morning, according to Purdue women’s basketball.
“Just super proud. Congratulations to Butler. I think about some of their kids who just played their last game. Knew they would come out and play really hard. They shot the crap out of it on Thursday, and we knew we had to guard the three point line,” Gearlds said after the win.
The game was the first in 18 days for Purdue women’s basketball, and Gearlds admitted her team didn’t know who it was playing until last Thursday night.
“We took Friday off, prepped on Saturday and Sunday. Thought we defended pretty well. They didn’t shoot as well as they did on Thursday. Maybe our length or speed sped them up a little bit or enough that they missed some shots,” Gearlds said.
Gearlds admitted while practice had been great for 18 days, there is no substitute for game reps for her team, who overcame adversity all season.
“No substitution for game reps and in tournament play where every play matters. Never once wavered in practice. Never once turned their head or stopped believing in who we are or what we are trying to build. We want to keep playing as long as we can. It’s special and those kids lost nine games by nine points or less. Having games like this is going to give us great experience moving forward,” Gearlds said.
Purdue women’s basketball was paced by Mila Reynolds, who shot 5-of-8 for 15 points, while Jayla Smith was 5-of-9 for 11 points and Abbey Ellis was 5-of-11 for 10 points.
