Dec. 19, 2000
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By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - What most players would consider a successful season, Katie Douglas called a slump.
She broke out of it in a big way Tuesday night, scoring 20 points and adding 10 assists as No. 8 Purdue beat No. 14 Stanford 90-60 to improve to 9-3.
Last year's second-team All-American, and this year's preseason pick, Douglas came in averaging just 14.9 points, 5.5 points lower than last season's total.
"Coach (Kristy) Curry got me into the offense early. She kept stressing to be aggressive at the start," Douglas said. "O can't turn it on and turn it off. If I come in aggressive, the team feeds off that," Douglas said.
The Boilermakers responded to Douglas in a huge way, with five players scoring in double figures.
Having those options has been a relief to Douglas.
"Last year, I was looked at so heavily to score. This year, we have so many scoring weapons. If (the defense) collapses on me, I can just find the open person," Douglas said.
Stanford (5-3) took a 13-6 lead thanks to two 3-pointers by Nicole Powell. Douglas answered those with two 3-pointers that cut the score to 18-16. Shinika Parks' basket at 10:30 of the first half put the Boilermakers ahead 19-18, and they never trailed after that.
Douglas also added two steals that were both converted into baskets. Kelly Komara had Purdue's other two first-half 3-pointers. She was fouled on her second one and converted the free throw for a four-point play, which opened up a 9-point lead.
Stanford, though, got it down to four points with 3:51 left. The Boilers then went on a 14-5 run that carried into the second half and they dominated after that. Douglas shot 50 percent from the floor, and was 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
Curry said she was proud of how Purdue responded, following its second-half collapse in Saturday's loss to LSU. The Boilermakers improved to 2-4 against ranked teams.
"Katie just had to say 'I'm going to be the leader of this team. I'm going to establish that again.' I think we showed it's not always going to fall to Katie or (Camille) Cooper. It's not all about one person. Everybody's going to have a bad and a good day, so somebody else has to be there to pick them up," Curry said.
Shalicia Hurns scored 12 points, Cooper, Parks and Shereka Wright had 11, and Komara finished with 11. Purdue went 8-of-15 from 3-point range. Both teams combined for seven in the first half, including five straight.
Powell led Stanford with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting.