Nov. 14, 2009
Complete Game Notes 
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
Tip: 1 p.m. ET
Television: None
Internet Video: Live web streaming on BigTenNetwork.com
Radio: WBPE 95.3 BOB-FM and purduesports.com. Tim Newton will provide play-by-play and Jane Schott will provide analysis.
Rankings: Purdue is ranked No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll and Western Illinois is not ranked.
Live Stats: GameTracker live stats are provided for each Purdue home game. A link to those stats is available at purduesports.com.
The Opponent
Sunday's matchup is the fifth between Purdue and Western Illinois and the season opener for both teams. The Boilermakers hold a 5-0 advantage. The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 6, 1988, when Sharon Versyp was a senior and Purdue won 85-75. The first meeting occurred on Feb. 20, 1981, and was a 72-67 victory for Purdue.
Next Up
Purdue plays host to the Basketball Travelers Classic on Nov. 20, 21 and 22. The round-robin tournament features Dayton, Georgetown and Seattle. The Boilermakers get things started against Seattle on Friday at 5 p.m. and Dayton takes on Georgetown 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. On Saturday, Purdue faces Dayton at 5 p.m., followed by Georgetown vs. Seattle and on Sunday, the event concludes with Seattle vs. Dayton at 1:15 p.m. and Purdue plays host to Georgetown at 4 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
The Last Time Out
The Boilermakers played just one exhibition game this season, defeating Lindsey Wilson College 74-39 on Sunday, Nov. 8. Prior to that, Purdue held a closed scrimmage against Ball State on Oct. 31.
Head Coach Sharon Versyp
Former Boilermaker point guard, Sharon Versyp is entering her fourth season as head coach at Purdue. She has a 75-32 record for a win percentage of 70.1 percent. The Mishawaka, Ind., native has a career mark of 192-97 and should reach the 200-win plateau this season, her 10th as a collegiate head coach. At Purdue, Versyp is averaging 25 wins per season, the second-best three-year average in school history. Kristy Curry averaged 26 wins in her first three years. Versyp has led the Boilermakers to two Big Ten Tournament championships (2007 and 2008) and to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight twice (2007 and 2009).
Poston Out With Injury
Sophomore Chantel Poston suffered an Achilles tendon injury on Oct. 1 that required surgery. She tore the tendon in her right foot during a conditioning drill and the 5-foot-10 guard is expected to miss the season.
Within Reach
Senior point guard FahKara Malone is just 65 steals away from setting the Purdue career steals record. The Evansville, Ind., native has 263 career steals, while former two-time All-American Katie Douglas owns the record with 327. Malone has averaged 87.7 steals a season. She recorded 104 thefts as a freshman, 89 as a sophomore and had 70 steals as a junior, despite missing nine games due to injury.
Three Ball
Senior Jodi Howell set the season record for three-point field goal percentage in 2008-09. She connected on 59 of 125 threes for 47.2 percent, leading the team and the Big Ten in three-point field goal accuracy. The Alexandria, Ind., native currently holds the school record for career three-point field goal percentage (minimum of 100 attempts) with a mark of 42.5 percent (131-308) through three seasons.
Youth and Experience
Purdue has a talented and experienced perimeter with FahKara Malone who is set to become the ninth four-year starter in Boilermaker history, senior Jodi Howell, Purdue's all-time leader in three-point field goal percentage and sophomore Brittany Rayburn, Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman. What the Boilermakers are lacking is a returning post player with significant minutes logged. Sophomore Alex Guyton is the most experienced and she averaged just 5.9 minutes per game. She also suffered a lower leg injury and is not expected to play until December. Chelsea Jones, Laura Garriga, Samantha Woods and Sam Ostarello will need to help fill the void, especially in the rebounding where Purdue lost 72.8% of its rebounding to graduation.
Going Deep
The Boilermakers have a 7-3 NCAA Tournament record under head coach Sharon Versyp, advancing to the Elite Eight twice in three years. Purdue is one of only nine teams that have earned a birth in the regional finals two of the last three years. Arizona State, Maryland, Stanford, Tennessee, North Carolina, Rutgers and LSU have advanced at least that far twice since 2006-07, and Connecticut has done it all three seasons.
Preseason Predictions
Purdue was picked by third by the media and fourth by the coaches in the Big Ten Preseason Poll. Ohio State and Michigan State were selected to finish first and second in both polls. The results of the votes were announced Nov. 29 at Big Ten Basketball Media Day in Chicago.
Senior Leadership
This year's three seniors, Laura Garriga, Jodi Howell and FahKara Malone were chosen as team captains.
Boilermakers Among Nation's Best In Attendance
Purdue fans' loyal support makes Mackey Arena a tough place to play and has placed the Boilermakers in the top 10 in national attendance for 14-straight seasons. Purdue has finished No. 5 each of the last two years and averaged 8,971 fans a game in 2008-09. The Boilermakers are closing in on their two millionth fan through the turnstiles, needing just 51,764 patrons to hit that mark. Based on last year's total attendance of 134,559, the Old Gold and Black could welcome fan No. 2,000,000 at the sixth game of the season vs. Gardner-Webb.
Woods Out For Two
Samantha Woods will miss the first two games of the season . The chemical engineering major used a non-medical redshirt last year as a sophomore, but the decision was not made before an appearance in last season's closed scrimmage at Ball State, so she must sit out two games.
Speed, Strength and Conditioning
Once again, the Purdue women's basketball team has set records in the weight room. Freshman Ashley Wilson owns the all-time bench press record at 180 pounds, while FahKara Malone and transfer Drey Mingo are tied for second at 170 lbs. Six players hold spots in the top-20 all-time for the bench press after lifting at least 140 lbs. each. Six players are in the top 25 in the power clean, lifting 65 kg (143 lbs.) or more - the most active players to reside in the top 25. Sophomores Chelsea Jones and Samantha Woods made the greatest gains in the offseason. Jones increased her bench press by 12 lbs. to 120 lbs., her power clean by 7 kg (15.4 lbs.) to 67 kg and her squat by 10 lbs. to 170 lbs. Woods moved her bench press up 15 lbs. to 120 lbs., her power clean 5 kg (11 lbs.) to 67.5 kg and her squat increased 20 lbs. to 240 lbs. Woods won the Golden Hammer Award and Jones was tabbed Purdue's Summer Warrior.
Boilermakers Ink Top-Five Recruiting Class
Each of her four years at Purdue, head coach Sharon Versyp has signed a top-15 recruiting class and this season is her best yet. The Boilermakers signed two instate stars, point guard Courtney Moses and forward Dee Dee Williams, who, along with transfers Antionette Howard and Drey Mingo, give Purdue the No. 5 national ranking according to Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. All-Star Girls Report rated the Boilermakers' signing class No. 13 nationally. Last season, both Moses (Oak Hill H.S.) and Williams (Ben Davis H.S.) led their teams to the Indiana girls basketball state tournament title game. Williams and the Giants capped off a perfect 30-0 season as state and national champions. The duo are considered leading candidates for Indiana's Miss Basketball and both are ranked in the top 100 by multiple scouting services. Moses' highest ranking is 35th by CGBR and Williams is 39th.
Tweet, Tweet
Follow the Twitter updates of the women's basketball coaching staff including head coach Sharon Versyp and assistants Martin Clapp, Ukari Figgs and Nadine Morgan @purduewhoops on twitter.com.
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