2024 Purdue commit Jordyn Poole shines in battle of future Boilermakers

On Wednesday evening at Cathedral High School, a battle of future Boilermakers took place in the Girls Indiana All-Stars vs. the Junior All-Stars. The girls set the tone for the evening, youth would conquer experience.

The annual exhibition between the Indiana All-Stars and Indiana Junior All-Stars was a one-sided affair with the juniors picking up a dominant 102-75 victory over their elder counterparts. The juniors had five players in double-figures and were scorching hot from behind the arc, knocking down their three-point attempts at a 46% clip.

One of the driving forces in the matchup was 2024 Purdue women's basketball commit Jordyn Poole. The Fort Wayne Snider point guard finished the night with 15 points on 6/14 shooting with five assists, four rebounds, and three steals to help guide the Junior All-Stars to the lopsided win. That performance came on the heels of a 19-point, 10-rebound outing in a win over the Kentucky Junior All-Stars on Sunday.

Despite being viewed as undersized, standing at 5'6", Poole proved to be one of the most complete players on a floor shared with several other Power 5 commits. She showed excellent command of the All-Stars offense despite just two games together under their belts. Poole has superb court vision and consistently created opportunities for her teammates on the offensive end.

Poole started the game cold, shooting just 1-6 from the field and finding herself in more of a facilitator role throughout the first half. After struggling in the first two quarters, she found her groove offensively in the second half. Poole dropped 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter to help expand the junior's lead to as much as 30.

The future Boilermaker showed she is more than just the flashy plays littered across her highlight reel. The 2024 commit wasn't afraid to do the dirty work and get physical inside, too. During the Junior team's second half surge, Poole helped put an exclamation point on the junior's outworking the seniors when she came up with an offensive rebound in the paint. Instead of passing it out, and despite her size disadvantage, the guard from Fort Wayne attacked the big in front of her, drawing contact and finishing through it for an and-1.

Junior All-Stars head coach Zach Newby deployed a full-court trap that stifled the senior's offense all game. That defensive tenacity began with Poole putting pressure on whoever brought the ball up the court. She stole the ball twice on in-bounds passes, leading to a bucket for the Junior All-Stars both times to help ignite the Junior's efforts early.

Poole has put her all-around game on display through two games during Indiana All-Star week. She will look to cap it off with another stellar performance in the inaugural "Futures Game" on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Wednesday evening was a struggle for the 2023 Indiana All-Stars, which included a pair of incoming Purdue freshmen participating in the annual event.

Purdue women's basketball signees Rashunda Jones and McKenna Layden headlined the team, alongside Indiana Miss Basketball winner and North Carolina signee Laila Hull. Despite the talent around the roster, the Senior All-Stars were without two key members of the group, one of which is headed for West Lafayette as well.

Amiyah Reynolds was held out of action as she recovers from a season-ending foot injury that will likely keep her sidelined for the entirety of her first season in West Lafayette. Akron signee and Indiana All-Star selection, Olivia Brown, joined her on the mend.

Already short-handed, the seniors did not do themselves any favors on Wednesday. As a team, they shot just 37% from the field and 5-25 from three point range. The veteran group also turned the ball over 29 times, leading to 39 points off turnovers for the juniors.

The usually efficient Jones was just 2-10 from the field, finishing with four points on the night, and was never able to get into a rhythm on offense. During her senior campaign, which saw her become a finalist for the Miss Basketball award, Jones shot 57% from the field but was unable to translate that in Wednesday's matchup.

Similar to Poole's approach in the first half, Jones turned to her facilitating abilities when her shots weren't falling. She dished out a game-high eight assists and showed exceptional court vision in doing so, having several highlight-worthy assists to set up her teammates for easy buckets in transition.

While Jones got the start, her All-Star teammate and fellow Boilermaker McKenna Layden came off the bench for the seniors, seeing just over 13 minutes of game action. Layden was 0-3 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line as she finished with one point for the night.

The younger sister of current Purdue forward Madison Layden played within herself and didn't force up bad shots offensively. The incoming freshman also stayed disciplined defensively and grabbed six rebounds in limited minutes.

Jones, Layden, and the Indiana All-Stars will aim to rebound on Friday as they take on the Kentucky All-Stars in Owensboro before a rematch on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where they will look to build on their 52-40 lead in the all-time series.