It's been a long, thorny road for Purdue lately, but it's about to end. After this one, anyway.
Purdue (7-8, 0-4 Big Ten) will play No. 25 Michigan (10-5, 1-3) Saturday at home, its last in a series of four-straight opponents ranked in the Top 25 of the AP Poll, and six of eight. Michigan, too, is seeking respite after three losses in a row to ranked Big Ten teams.
What Katie Gearlds said:
The big, bad Big Ten
Purdue's schedule has been legit. It's now No. 1 in the country according to the NET algorithm, and upon hearing this, head coach Katie Gearlds let fly an expletive. "I don't ever say that, either," she said with a smile.
"It's been a unique challenge," Gearlds said. "The one thing I love is that our kids have not stopped fighting every single day."
As for herself, she's leaned on mentors: her college coach Kristy Curry, and also a fellow Boilermaker who's been around the block a time or two in Matt Painter.
"Matt always tells me, like, 'Do what you think is best for Purdue, and it'll end up going the right way.' And his words always resonate with me."
Responding from lopsided UCLA defeat
In the Boilers' last game, they lost 83-49 to No. 1 UCLA. They were nearly doubled up in rebounds and shot 33% from the floor.
"I don't know that we could have done anything different," Gearlds said. "Honestly, we did our best to make sure (Bruins star center Lauren Betts) worked for everything, and then just hope they have an off night, and they didn't.
"Even watching back on film, we did some really good things against UCLA. They're just No. 1 in the country for a reason."
Michigan: 'Young and hungry'
The Wolverines deploy three freshmen starters, all guards. Gearlds said they remind her of herself at their age.
"Skilled, physical, good length, confident, confidence through the roof," Gearlds said. "They remind me of a young myself, actually, just a swag out there."
Olivia Olson and Syla Swords are well-sized at 6-foot-1 and 6-foot, respectively. The third, Mila Holloway, matches her classmates with an ability to score at all three levels.
"It doesn't get any easier for us," Gearlds said. "It is the Big Ten, and we got a really good, hungry, young Michigan team coming in tomorrow."
