Oct. 29, 2003

No team can function without a player to bring the ball up the court. Fortunately for the Boilermakers, they have one of the best in the business to perform that task in 5-foot-6 senior point guard Erika Valek.

A candidate for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding NCAA Division I women's basketball player who stands 5-foot-8 or under, Valek is back for what figures to be an outstanding swan song.

Valek, who has started all 98 games in which she has competed for the Boilermakers, broke out as a junior, averaging 14.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, a team-high 4.9 assists, and a team-best 2.6 steals per game. Valek was a first team All-Big Ten selection by the conference coaches in 2003, and also earned NCAA East Regional all-tournament honors. She enters the 2003-04 season ranked in the top 10 all-time in three-point field goals made, attempted and percentage, free throw percentage, assists, steals and games started. Thirty more starts would give her the Purdue record.

Curry is thrilled to have her savvy point guard back for one more year.

"In my mind, Erika is the best pure point guard in the country," Curry says. "She is the consummate floor general. She can do it all, and there is no one I'd rather have leading our team."

Also hoping to have a quality senior campaign is Beth Jones. A 5-foot-9 shooting guard and two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Jones broke Purdue's single season three-point field goals made record last year, when she drained 71 treys in 35 games (2.0 per game). Jones improved her scoring average by 5.5 points from her sophomore (3.2) to junior (8.7) years, and became a mainstay in the starting lineup. Curry would like to see Jones' journey from patient reserve to potent contributor have a happy ending.

"Beth has worked so hard from the moment she got here, and she quietly went about paying her dues without complaining," Curry says. "She is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be. She is a great role model and a great leader for us."

Sophomore Sharika Webb joins Valek and Jones in the backcourt. Webb, who stands 5-foot-9, can handle point and shooting guard duties for the Boilermakers. As a freshman, Webb averaged 2.7 points and 1.4 assists per game in a reserve role.

Curry would like to see Webb make an even bigger contribution in her second season.

"Sharika is very good passer and shooter," Curry says. "She has the talent to make us a better team. How big a role she plays depends upon her conditioning level."

Classmate Ashley Mays would like to see her role develop this season. The 5-foot-8 sophomore played just three games in 2002-03, but has worked hard to make up for lost time.

"We're all very proud of Ashley for the commitment she has made to improving herself as both a student and as a basketball player," Curry says. "She has become a very positive force for our team."

The biggest new force in the backcourt is freshman Katie Gearlds. The 2003 Indiana Miss Basketball and McDonald's All-America game Most Valuable Player, Gearlds is coming off a state championship season with Beech Grove (Ind.) High School. The 6-foot-1 multi-purpose guard already is drawing comparisons to former Boilermaker All-American Katie Douglas, another 6-foot-1 Indianapolis southsider who could play almost every position on the court.

Curry would like nothing more than for the newer Katie to have the same type of career as the Katie who graduated in 2001 with a national championship banner, two outright Big Ten championship rings, and three Big Ten Tournament title trophies.

"Katie is special," Curry says. "She has all the tools to be a great player. We are quite sure that she will be an impact for us out of the gate, and that she will have an outstanding career as a Boilermaker."

Coming Oct. 30 - A look at the Boilermaker frontcourt.

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