November 5, 1998
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.- The Purdue women's basketball team played its first exhibition game on Nov. 5, defeating the Visby Ladies of Sweden 87-50 in its home-opener. It looked as if it was going to be a long game for the Boilermakers as both teams went scoreless for the first four minutes of the game. A steal by senior guard Ukari Figgs, which resulted in a lay-up basket, put the first points up on the board for Purdue. The Boilermakers faced some tough competition in the first minutes of the game, as they were unable to take the lead until a jumper by senior guard Stephanie White-McCarty put Purdue up 12-11 with 10 minutes left to play in the first-half. It was at that time that the Boilermakers took the stage by capitalizing on a 28-8 run to complete the first half with a score of 40-19.
In the second half, Purdue continued its dominance, shooting 52.8% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range. The Boilermakers finished the game with their highest margin of victory with a 31-point advantage over the Visby Ladies to give Purdue a jump-start into the season.
The theme of the game for the Boilermakers was team contributions, as several players contributed in Purdue's first victory. Sophomore Katie Douglas topped the Boilermakers with 20 points in addition to seven rebounds and six assists. Douglas' game seems to have improved a lot from last season.
"She's really been working hard on her jump shot and on improving all the aspects of her game that she felt she needed to work on," Figgs said. "I think she went out and did that this summer, and I think it showed up tonight."
"She has an all around game," Purdue head coach Carolyn Peck said. "She can deliver the ball. She can push it down the court. She can shoot the ball, and she can take it strong to the whole. She is very versatile, especially with her size."
Sophomore Camille Cooper provided a nice spark off the bench with 13 points and five rebounds. She also shot fairly well from the free-throw line, an area in which Cooper struggled last season, connecting on five-of eight from the charity stripe.
"I think Camille is playing with a lot of confidence right now," Peck said. "She is playing like she is on a mission. She knew she had some things to learn when we finished last year, and she has come into practice and has worked extremely hard."
Other Boilermakers in double figures for Purdue included Figgs with 19 points, seven boards, and five steals and White-McCarty with 12 points and four rebounds. Freshman guard Kelly Komara added nine points in her freshman debut.
"We went out and played hard for forty minutes," White-McCarty said. "We needed this win under our belt, and we needed to see what we need to work on because that is what these games are for."
Purdue will play its next exhibition game against the Dynamo team from Russia on Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Mackey Arena.