Purdue Not Taking Any Victory Laps After 19-Point Win in Season Opener
In this story:
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue may have walked out of Mackey Arena with a 67-48 win over Fairleigh Dickinson in its season opener on Monday night, but there weren't a lot of smiles to be seen. Instead, there was a lot of frustration with the team's performance, especially in the second half.
The Boilermakers outscored Fairleigh Dickinson 26-8 in the second quarter and owned a 42-21 lead at halftime, which helped start the season with a win. But poor defensive and rebounding efforts, compounded by a surplus of turnovers and fouls made for a frustrating night for coach Katie Gearlds.
"If you're going to look for something good, I've got nothing," Gearlds said honestly after the game. "Our discipline defensively, our understanding of what we're trying to do on the offensive end, our unwillingness to box out, our unwillingness to execute on the offensive end when we did get into things ... there were a lot of times I thought [Fairleigh Dickinson] was tougher than we were and that can't happen."
Purdue got off to a sluggish start, leading Fairleigh Dickinson 16-13 through the first 10 minutes. Hila Karsh was the savior of that opening quarter, scoring eight of the Boilermakers' points.
Things really began clicking in the second quarter, especially for transfer Kiki Smith, who scored 12 points in that period, highlighted by a trio of triples. At that time, Purdue was firing on all cylinders.
But when the Boilers came out of the locker room, the pistons had cooled off. They scored a paltry seven points in those 10 minutes. Fairleigh Dickinson was unable to shave much off the lead, scoring just nine points.
One moment was particularly frustrating for Gearlds in that third period, watching her team surrender four consecutive offensive rebounds on the same possession. The Knights didn't get any points out of that trip, but Purdue's lackluster effort forced the head coach to take a timeout.
"She was upset about that, because that should never happen," said sophomore forward Lana McCarthy. "I mean, it doesn't matter who we have on the floor, what size we have on the floor, we should never allow four offensive rebounds in one possession."
Purdue ended the game with a 46-30 advantage on the glass, but Gearlds still wasn't happy with the effort she saw when it came to boxing out and collecting missed shots at either end of the floor.
"I don't think we rebounded the ball well, I thought we rebounded it because we were bigger than they were," Gearlds said. "Not because we were disciplined and put a body on somebody and boxed out. There were a few of us that did that, not always five people on the floor. We're not going to be bigger than most teams, we have to be better than this."
Fairleigh Dickinson outscored by two points over the final 20 minutes of the game. The Knights never threatened Purdue after the first quarter Monday night, but it certainly left a sour taste in the mouths of the Boilermakers.
"Our unwillingness to do what we were asking them to do is kind of frustrating right now, and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it," Gearlds said. "For us to have any kind of success, the second quarter has to be our identity."
Purdue needs to channel second quarter energy
Everyone was in agreement after the game: the way Purdue played in the second quarter is going to be the key to success for the rest of the season. The Boilermakers outscored the Knights 26-8 in that period, anchored by toughness on the glass and relentless defensive pressure.
McCarthy, who finished the game with 10 points and seven rebounds, said Purdue's effort in those 10 minutes showed what this team is capable of doing.
"How we played defense in the second quarter is how we need to play the rest of the season," McCarthy said. "I think we were tenacious, we were on the ball, we were getting steals, getting rebounds, and I think that shows who we can be ... I think our ball pressure caused all of that."
Smith echoed those comments — and for good reason. She scored 12 of her game-high 19 points in that second quarter.
"I think just playing how we played in the second quarter," Smith said. "Make sure we keep our energy up, that the effort is always there. I feel like we kind of slacked off a little bit, and we didn't play the way we should have in that second half."
Purdue doesn't have long to wait until it returns to the floor. The Boilermakers will host Eastern Illinois on Thursday at Mackey Arena, hoping to improve upon its experience from the season opener.
It may not have been pretty, but Smith thinks it can be a valuable lesson for Thursday night's contest.
"I think we can learn from that and come out and be ready to go Thursday in the first and second half."
Related stories on Purdue women's basketball
PURDUE GAME THREAD: Look back at some of the highlights from Purdue's 67-48 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday. CLICK HERE
Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
Follow SchutteDustin