Quotes That Matter From Purdue's Katie Gearlds at Big Ten Women's Basketball Media Day

ROSEMONT, Ill. — A new season of Purdue women's basketball is knocking on the door. On Wednesday, head coach Katie Gearlds and guards Kyndall Hunter and Hannah Wickstrom were in Rosemont to participate in Big Ten Media Days to preview the upcoming year.

Purdue finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 13-17 record and a 5-13 mark in Big Ten play. Gearlds is hoping to build off that and get her team back on the positive side of the .500 mark.

Gearlds is optimistic about the outlook of her team for the 2026-27 season. Here are a few important comments from the head coach at Big Ten Media Days.

Purdue head coach Katie Gearlds takes a question at the podium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

How international experience helps Purdue

Purdue has seven international players on this year's roster, though only six are currently available because of a season-ending injury to Zoja Stirn that was announced earlier this week.

Targeting international prospects wasn't necessarily a top priority, but those players do bring unique experience to Purdue. Gearlds explained what she liked about that group.

"Really, the IQ piece of it," Gearlds said. "When you get to Europe, it's not as many games, it's a lot of practice, a lot more training, all of that. And then, from the time you grab a ball over there, there are 24 seconds on the shot clock.

"Their IQ, it has been refreshing to be around. Their ability to grasp concepts fairly quickly."

The jump from Avery Gordon's freshman to sophomore year

Last season, 6-foot-7 freshman Avery Gordom played a significant role for Purdue off the bench. With Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear both transferring out, the sophomore becomes the team's primary post player.

Gordon averaged 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest as a true freshman. But she has much higher ambitions this year, especially with the size advantage she should have against multiple teams this season.

"We had a lot of conversations with her about what she wanted. What are your dreams, what are your aspirations and what are your goals? And she laid them out," Gearlds said. "Then, OK, you're giving us permission to demand this from you."

Gearlds said that Gordon should target hitting around 70% of her shots from the post. If that happens, she could have a monster year for the Boilermakers.

What will be Purdue's identity?

During her tenure in West Lafayette, Gearlds has tried to push the tempo offensively. The Boilermakers are already down two players this season — Stirn and Aysia Proctor — and Gearlds doesn't want her team worn down for the long haul of the season.

Those injuries could force Purdue's hand a bit. She still wants to play relatively quickly on the offensive end, but some of the biggest questions come from a defensive perspective.

"Are we a defensive pressure team for 94 feet the entire game? How much does that change?" Gearlds said. "Offensively, I think we can still try to push pace."

More than anything, though, Gearlds wants her team to embrace a tough mindset. The goal is to keep the program climbing in the Big Ten standings and make a push for the NCAA Tournament.

"We're really trying to get back to a place where we make Purdue proud ... We want to be really, really tough to beat."

Hannah Wickstrom needs to be a scorer

One of the biggest steals of the transfer portal was Purdue landing Wickstrom, who was the nation's fifth-leading scorer at UC Riverside during the 2025-26 season. She averaged 23.4 points per game and shot 48.5% from the floor.

Wickstrom does a lot of things well on the basketball court, but Gearlds made it clear that the former Riverside guard was brought in to put points on the scoreboard.

"She's gotta produce. There were a couple practices where she was getting in the paint and dropping it off to the post players and trying to kick out. Like, you scored 23 points [per game], your job is to score," Gearlds said. "The other day in practice was the most comfortable I've seen her. The ball was going up and it was going in."

Rebounding from the guard positions is important

Purdue has two post players with good size in Gordon and Anjela Minja, who stands 6-foot-5. Those two should help the Boilermakers on the glass. But Gearlds also talked about the importance of guards holding up their end of the bargain when it comes to the boards.

"It's gotta be big. If neither Avery or Minja is in, our tallest post is 6-foot," Gearlds said. "So, our guards have to be elite rebounders. We just can't rely on Avery and Minja on the glass. If we can take care of the ball and rebound the ball, we'll give ourselves a chance. We can be a sound half-court defensive team."

This is a smaller team, so Purdue must be willing to bring the fight when it comes to rebounding.

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