Purdue Women's Basketball Media Availability - Nov. 8th
Purdue women’s basketball head coach Katie Gearlds, Madison Layden, and Lasha Petree addressed the media Tuesday afternoon before their regular season opener against Marshall on Thursday evening.
Katie Gearlds:
- She gives their performance in the exhibition win over Purdue Northwest a C+.
- The first quarter was a matter of nerves, and Purdue Northwest came out in a zone they did not expect.
- She mentioned they need to cut down on turnovers after they had 19 on Sunday. The goal is to keep turnovers around 13 or 14, and the reason for that is the pace they play with.
- As long as they take care of the basketball, Gearlds likes their options on the perimeter to go along with Caitlyn Harper’s scoring in the post.
- Defensively, Gearlds wants the team to have more urgency and play as they did in the third quarter on Sunday.
- She praised transfers Lasha Petree and Caitlyn Harper for coming in and competing for starting roles knowing Purdue was returning five starters from last year’s team. She said their adjustment to the Purdue culture has been easy.
- Gearlds feels like Purdue has 8 starters on their team right now.
- The freshmen are still learning and growing, but they have the opportunity to learn from great upperclassmen right now.
- She said there is a lot for them to play with and that they used bigger and smaller lineups against Purdue Northwest.
- Gearlds thinks the locker room is in a great place this season after adversity over the last couple of years.
- Abbey Ellis’ X-Rays and CT scans were clean on her shoulder. The timetable for her return is not known yet.
- Jayla Smith and Cassidy Hardin will fill those minutes if Ellis is out for an extended period. Ava Learn could see a more significant role in that time as well.
Madison Layden:
- On what she remembers about Marshall as an opponent after playing them last season: She remembers they were very physical, but the coaching staff has told them they brought in a lot of new players this year.
- She said one of the team’s main goals for Thursday’s game is to get off to a better start. The key will be relaxing out of the gates and limiting turnovers. Purdue had 10 turnovers in the first quarter of their exhibition win on Sunday.
- Her personal goal for this year is to become a better leader as she enters her junior season.
Lasha Petree:
- Reflecting on her last performance: She will focus on not fouling. She felt like she came out really anxious and jumpy, getting her in foul trouble.
- On her role with Purdue compared to Rutgers: She has always been looked at to score, but now has the freedom to do so. That was something she did not necessarily have last season.
- Katie Gearlds trusts everyone on the court, allowing them to create with what they have. She also feels she has to trust herself more with that offensive freedom.
- Playing against Purdue when she was with Bradley and Rutgers, she always admired the program and how they played. Things have gone as she expected thus far.