Watch / Listen / Game Notes
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team aims to continue its hot start this week, heading to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2018 Paradise Jam, hosted by Basketball Traveler's Inc. at the University of the Virgin Islands. The Boilermakers will play Thursday, Friday and Saturday, squaring off with St. John's, Ole Miss and second-ranked UConn.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Karissa McLaughlin, So.
Dominique Oden, Jr.
Ae'Rianna Harris, Jr.
Tamara Farquhar, So.
Lyndsey Whilby, So.
LOOKING BACK
Purdue improved to 4-0 for the 15th time in program history Sunday, defeating visiting Purdue Fort Wayne 78-44 at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers cashed in a season-best 55.1 percent from the floor, including 75 percent in the second and third quarters (18-24). Harris set Purdue's single-game field goal percentage record, converting all 10 of her shots en route to 23 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Cassidy Hardin and Oden joined her in double figures with 14 and 12, respectively.
THREE-HEADED MONSTER
The trio of Harris, Oden and McLaughlin are combining for an average of 44.1 points per game, all ranking in the top-15 in the conference in scoring. Harris' outburst against the Mastadons pushed her into the team lead at 15.0 points per game to go with her 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots, while McLaughlin is averaging 5.0 assists per game and Oden is cashing in 53.8 percent from the field, good for second-best among guards in the conference.
TRENDING
Hardin is coming off a solid week for the Boilermakers in which she hit seven 3-point field goals and dished out seven assists with no turnovers. The Purdue rookie has the best assist/turnover ratio in the Big Ten at 12:1, and her eight 3-pointers are tied for the most by a freshman in the conference so far this season.
SHARING IS CARING
The Boilermakers dished out 21 and 22 assists in their last two wins and are among the nation's best in assists per game and percentage of assisted field goals. Purdue's 76 assists through four games are 15th most in the NCAA, and their 19.0 per game average is 35th. The Boilermakers have had three different players dish five or more assists in a game this season, three of which came from McLaughlin and two from freshman Kayana Traylor.
BOOST FROM THE BENCH
The Boilermaker reserves have scored at least 28 points in three of the first four games of the season, including 33 points against Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne. The jump in scoring has allowed Versyp to play eight different players at least 10 minutes per game, and has only two individuals playing more than 30 minutes per contest.
ALL ABOUT ST. JOHNS
Purdue meets the Red Storm for the first time in program history Thursday in the opening game of the Paradise Jam. St. John's is 2-0 with wins at Iona and Army to start the year, and has yet to play at home. The Purdue and St. John's coaching staff feature a major overlap at James Madison University as Versyp was an assistant from 1997-to-2000, Red Storm head coach Joe Tartamella was a student there, graduating in 2001, and Boilermakers associate head coach Nadine Morgan played for the Dukes from 2000-03. The Red Storm have four players averaging double figures in the early season, led by senior Akina Wellere at 12.5 points per game.
ALL ABOUT OLE MISS
The Rebels are in their first season under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and play UConn on Thursday before meeting the Boilermakers on Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET. Ole Miss is 3-1 on the year, beating Western Michigan on Sunday 69-66, but fell to IUPUI on Nov. 9 in Oxford 66-58. Senior graduate transfer Crystal Allen leads the Rebels at 18.0 points per game entering the week and is their only player in double figures. Freshman Mimi Reid is averaging 5.0 assists per game, and graduate transfer La'Karis Salter, who followed McPhee-McCuin from Jacksonville leads the team in rebounding at 7.5 per game.
ALL ABOUT UCONN
The second-ranked Huskies await the Boilermakers in the final game of the tournament, set to tip at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. One of the top teams in the nation year-in and year-out, UConn enters the week at 2-0 with wins over Ohio State and Vanderbilt to start 2018-19. Head coach Geno Auriemma has four players averaging double figures, paced by junior point guard Crystal Dangerfield at 18.5 points per game. Senior Katie Lou Samuelson adds 17.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, fellow senior Napheesa Collier averages 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game and sophomore Megan Walker has scored 14.5 points per game so far this season.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team aims to continue its hot start this week, heading to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2018 Paradise Jam, hosted by Basketball Traveler's Inc. at the University of the Virgin Islands. The Boilermakers will play Thursday, Friday and Saturday, squaring off with St. John's, Ole Miss and second-ranked UConn.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Karissa McLaughlin, So.
Dominique Oden, Jr.
Ae'Rianna Harris, Jr.
Tamara Farquhar, So.
Lyndsey Whilby, So.
LOOKING BACK
Purdue improved to 4-0 for the 15th time in program history Sunday, defeating visiting Purdue Fort Wayne 78-44 at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers cashed in a season-best 55.1 percent from the floor, including 75 percent in the second and third quarters (18-24). Harris set Purdue's single-game field goal percentage record, converting all 10 of her shots en route to 23 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Cassidy Hardin and Oden joined her in double figures with 14 and 12, respectively.
THREE-HEADED MONSTER
The trio of Harris, Oden and McLaughlin are combining for an average of 44.1 points per game, all ranking in the top-15 in the conference in scoring. Harris' outburst against the Mastadons pushed her into the team lead at 15.0 points per game to go with her 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots, while McLaughlin is averaging 5.0 assists per game and Oden is cashing in 53.8 percent from the field, good for second-best among guards in the conference.
TRENDING
Hardin is coming off a solid week for the Boilermakers in which she hit seven 3-point field goals and dished out seven assists with no turnovers. The Purdue rookie has the best assist/turnover ratio in the Big Ten at 12:1, and her eight 3-pointers are tied for the most by a freshman in the conference so far this season.
SHARING IS CARING
The Boilermakers dished out 21 and 22 assists in their last two wins and are among the nation's best in assists per game and percentage of assisted field goals. Purdue's 76 assists through four games are 15th most in the NCAA, and their 19.0 per game average is 35th. The Boilermakers have had three different players dish five or more assists in a game this season, three of which came from McLaughlin and two from freshman Kayana Traylor.
BOOST FROM THE BENCH
The Boilermaker reserves have scored at least 28 points in three of the first four games of the season, including 33 points against Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne. The jump in scoring has allowed Versyp to play eight different players at least 10 minutes per game, and has only two individuals playing more than 30 minutes per contest.
ALL ABOUT ST. JOHNS
Purdue meets the Red Storm for the first time in program history Thursday in the opening game of the Paradise Jam. St. John's is 2-0 with wins at Iona and Army to start the year, and has yet to play at home. The Purdue and St. John's coaching staff feature a major overlap at James Madison University as Versyp was an assistant from 1997-to-2000, Red Storm head coach Joe Tartamella was a student there, graduating in 2001, and Boilermakers associate head coach Nadine Morgan played for the Dukes from 2000-03. The Red Storm have four players averaging double figures in the early season, led by senior Akina Wellere at 12.5 points per game.
ALL ABOUT OLE MISS
The Rebels are in their first season under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and play UConn on Thursday before meeting the Boilermakers on Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET. Ole Miss is 3-1 on the year, beating Western Michigan on Sunday 69-66, but fell to IUPUI on Nov. 9 in Oxford 66-58. Senior graduate transfer Crystal Allen leads the Rebels at 18.0 points per game entering the week and is their only player in double figures. Freshman Mimi Reid is averaging 5.0 assists per game, and graduate transfer La'Karis Salter, who followed McPhee-McCuin from Jacksonville leads the team in rebounding at 7.5 per game.
ALL ABOUT UCONN
The second-ranked Huskies await the Boilermakers in the final game of the tournament, set to tip at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. One of the top teams in the nation year-in and year-out, UConn enters the week at 2-0 with wins over Ohio State and Vanderbilt to start 2018-19. Head coach Geno Auriemma has four players averaging double figures, paced by junior point guard Crystal Dangerfield at 18.5 points per game. Senior Katie Lou Samuelson adds 17.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, fellow senior Napheesa Collier averages 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game and sophomore Megan Walker has scored 14.5 points per game so far this season.