Freshmen helping to lead Purdue as it sets for NCAA tourney opener
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — It’s frequently said that seniors carry a team in the postseason.
And that might be true for Purdue this weekend.
But just as likely, perhaps more so, the Boilermakers will go as their freshmen do. That’s seemed to be the case the last eight games — Purdue (22-12) had won seven in a row before the Big Ten Tournament title loss to Maryland — as it heads to the NCAA Tournament. The ninth-seeded Boilermakers play No. 8 Green Bay (27-5), the Horizon League winners, at 5 p.m. Friday at Notre Dame.
With the rookies, maturity helps, and Dominique Oden, Ae’Rianna Harris and Lamina Cooper carry themselves wiser than their ages suggest.
“I feel like we’re way more mature than people think we are, even though we can be goofy with our team,” Harris said, “but when it comes down to it, work is work and play is play.”
But play matters, too, and the Boilermakers’ first-year players have been solid, particularly lately. In the last eight games, Oden has averaged 9.8 points per game, including 17.6 in the three Big Ten Tournament games; Harris, who moved into the starting lineup eight games ago after coming off the bench previously, is averaging 7.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks; Cooper is at 5.8 points and 2.5 boards.
The trio has had a steep learning curve, necessitated by the Boilermakers’ other injuries. Purdue lost center Bree Horrocks after two games and Tiara Murphy after nine, two more experienced players who would have taken up minutes. But with those minutes available, they had to be filled.
And Sharon Versyp’s only option was to play her freshmen early.
It’s paid off.
About halfway through the season, Versyp told the group they’d played enough to not be considered freshmen any longer, taking a moment out of a film session to let them know.
“We’re still kind of freshmen but we don’t have that mentality any more,” Oden said.
The rookies have been difference-makers for the Boilermakers. It was Harris early in the seven-game winning streak, when she had a 14-rebound game at Rutgers, then back-to-back double-figure scoring outings. Oden took over at times during the Big Ten Tournament, giving Purdue a second legitimate perimeter scorer to pair with senior Ashley Morrissette. She was incredible in leading the comeback vs. Indiana, with her barrage of three-pointers — five in all — helping the Boilermakers come back from down 17 in the second half. Oden’s three with 39 seconds left sealed the win. She had four more triples vs. Ohio State, and 20 points, in the semifinals upset. In a 90-second stretch against the Buckeyes, she had three triples, helping Purdue build an eight-point lead early in the second. Cooper has come off the bench to have big moments, like her 10-point, eight-rebound game vs. Minnesota.
Oden thinks she’s played well — and consistently so — because she was ready.
“I feel like practices in the summer season, the preseason, prepared us for the role we had to play this year,” Oden said. “Maybe some of it is our talent or the hard work we put in before college, but definitely the work we put in preseason and before the season started was important.”
Because of what she’s seen, Versyp hasn’t been shy about getting the group on the court.
“You saw lot of two seniors and three freshmen on the floor at the same time,” she said, referring to the Big Ten Tournament, “and they’re playing really, really well together.”
Certainly, Purdue wants to win vs. Green Bay, then play Sunday, like against top-seed Notre Dame. Whether the Boilermakers do might depend on the freshmen, but regardless of outcome, the season has put them on a good path.
“I feel like every experience we go through will help us with the next step and the next years and the next team,” Harris said. “The way the other players and coaches reacted with us is the way we know now how to treat the freshmen under us for our next couple years.
“This particular experience, I’m glad we’re having it and excited to see how far we go, but it’ll keep us moving along for our next three years.”
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