Year 2 of Katie Gearlds Era Begins With Exhibition Win

Transfer duo Lasha Petree and Caitlyn Harper combined to score 36 of the Boilermakers 98 points for a team that 56.6% overall and 41.2% from 3 behind the arc. The most eye popping stat of the night may in fact be the 23 total assists on 30 made shots. The Boilers seemed to still struggle with ball control as they committed 19 turnovers which was an area of struggle for the program last season.

The Boilers trailed Purdue Northwest after the first quarter 19-14 but quickly turned it around in the second scoring 34 points. The biggest key though was the way the Boilermakers played defense to start the second half where they held Purdue Northwest to only 9 points. On the third quarter defensive effort, Head Coach Katie Gearlds said ‘We challenged them to lock in defensively a little more. It was a little bit of first-game jitters, playing in front of a crowd for the first time. That has to be our identity. The way we locked in and guarded in the third quarter has to be our identity.’

2021-2022 B1G Honorable Mention players Madison Layden and Abbey Ellis combined to have 8 assists and 0 turnovers as well. Fellow B1G Honorable Mention player Janae Terry shot the ball well going for 11 points, 5 assists, and 1 steal but struggled to control the ball with 4 turnovers (a team high).

Purdue was able to score 21 points off 17 Pride turnovers and held an 11-0 advantage on second chance points. The biggest keys though was the 27-4 edge Purdue had on the fast break while also controlling the paint with 46 points.

The Boilers will officially start their season on Thursday at Mackey Arena against the Marshall Thundering Herd at 6:00pm.