What We've Learned From Purdue Women's Basketball's 2-0 Start

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The first two games of the Purdue women's basketball season haven't been the prettiest, but the Boilermakers are off to a 2-0 start, posting wins over IU Indy and Eastern Michigan. Right now, getting tallies in the win column is the only thing that matters.

Purdue opened the season with an 81-73 victory over IU Indy on Monday and followed it up with an 83-73 win over Eastern Michigan on Thursday evening. Although only two games have been played, we've learned quite a bit about Katie Gearlds' team already.

Here are a few takeaways from the first two contests.

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Katie Gearlds yells at her team. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Avery Gordon's improvement

Gordon looks like she's made the sophomore leap early in the season. She opened the year with a 16-point, eight-rebound performance against IU Indy. In the win over Eastern Michigan, the 6-foot-7 sophomore finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists. She's been tough for opponents to handle in the post.

Most impressively, Gordon has improved on the defensive end. Through the first two games, she's committed just two fouls. She's learned how to play straight up defensively, using her size and length to bother shooters without picking up unnecessary fouls. That was an important skill for her to learn, because the Boilers need her availability every night.

Three-point shooting

The Boilermakers only attempted 13 threes on opening night, making five. The seas opened up on Thursday, connected on 12-of-24 triples in the 10-point win over Eastern Michigan. Four of the five starters got involved in the action, too.

Jelena Bulajic knocked down four shots from the perimeter, and Hannah Wickstrom and Kyndall Hunter each made three. Taylor Henderson and Maya Zilbershlag each knocked down a shot from behind the arc, too.

Purdue likes the collection of shooters it has on the roster, especially in its starting lineup. Its shooting showed up in a big way in the win over Eastern Michigan.

Fouling on defense is problematic

One glaring problem so far has been Purdue's inability to defend without fouling. The Boilers were responsible for 23 fouls against IU Indy, sending the Jaguars to the line 35 times. On Thursday night, Purdue fouled 23 times again, resulting in 21 free-throw attempts for the Eagles.

Purdue can't continually send teams to the free-throw line. It must figure out ways to defend without fouling. Too often, guards have gotten beat off the dribble or are late on a rotation. When the guards are behind a play, they've had a tendency to reach in or foul on a drive to the basket.

The pieces of this team are still new and are continuing to develop chemistry. Communication on the defensive end must improve moving forward to avoid the foul situation.

Jelena Bulajic provides a big spark

Through the first two games, Bulajic looks like a steal out of the transfer portal. She has been a do-it-all guard for the Boilermakers, hitting shots, fighting on the glass and finding open teammates. She's also arguably Purdue's top perimeter defender, though she's gotten caught up in the fouling problem, too.

Bulajic was key in Purdue's win over IU Indy, making big plays down the stretch. She finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Against Eastern Michigan, she knocked down three triples in the first quarter to help her team jump out to an early 15-2 lead and set the tone. She finished with 19 points.

Wickstrom and Hunter have been Purdue's top two scorers through the first two games, but Bulajic has been a great addition and appears to be an emotional leader.

The bench is still figuring it out

Purdue's starters have played well through the first two games. The bench is still figuring a lot out. In the first two games, there's been quite a drop in production when the Boilers have had to turn to their second unit. Part of that may still be players learning to play together in live games.

The bench gave Purdue just two points in its opening win over IU Indy. It scored seven in Thursday's victory over Eastern Michigan. Of a possible 164 points in two games, the bench has accounted for just nine.

The Boilers still have time to figure things out, but they need to find some solutions off the bench. It's a long year and the starters can't carry such a heavy workload every night in a 30-game season.

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