Women's Basketball: Purdue Earns No. 11 Seed In NCAA Tournament

For the first time since the 2016-17 season, Purdue women’s basketball is going dancing. The Boilermakers secured an 11 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

With a 19-10 record, Purdue snuck into March Madness as a part of the “last four in” and will play St. John's in the First Four on Thursday night. The Red Storm are 22-8 on the season and were the No. 4 seed in this year's Big East Tournament.

The Boilermakers will travel to a place they've had success this season, as Columbus, Ohio will play host to Purdue's first, and potentially two other games this March.

The winner of the First Four matchup will have a date with No. 6 seed North Carolina on Saturday in the round of 64. If Purdue were to win those two games, a rematch with Ohio State could be in the cards in the round of 32. Purdue knocked off the second ranked Buckeyes in January.

Purdue used a mid-season push to earn a spot in the tournament, which included beating then No. 2 Ohio State and No. 22 Illinois on the road. Purdue also had impressive non-conference wins over Oklahoma State and Syracuse early in the season.

The March Madness berth snapped the longest NCAA Tournament drought for the program since the 1980s. The Boilermakers reached their highest win total since 2018-19 despite losing two games due to cancellations earlier in the season.

Head coach Katie Gearlds inherited a Purdue team coming off of a 7-16 season in 2020, and after two years, she has returned them to the NCAA Tournament. Gearlds is no stranger to postseason success, both in her playing career and as a coach. During her playing days, the Boilermakers went to four straight NCAA Tournaments, including trips to a pair of Sweet 16s and an Elite 8.

Prior to becoming Purdue’s head coach, Gearlds was one of the most successful coaches at the NAIA level with Marian (IN). Over eight years leading the Knights, she went to seven NAIA Tournaments, winning National Championships in 2016 and 2017.