WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team is set to open the 2026-27 campaign at Mackey Arena on Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. on B1G+ against IU Indy.
Featuring a roster of 10 newcomers, the Boilermakers picked up a 55-52 win in their lone exhibition ahead of the season on Oct. 24 over UIC. Hannah Wickstrom led the way for Purdue with 20 points, while Kyndall Hunter chipped in 16 points.
The Nov. 2 start is the earliest in program history.
PROMOTIONS
• Halftime Performance: Purdue Twirlers
GAME NOTES
• Head coach Katie Gearlds enters her sixth season at the helm of her alma mater with a new-look roster with 10 newcomers, featuring six transfers and four freshmen.
• Monday's matchup opens a four-game homestand for the Boilermakers with nine of their first 11 being played at Mackey Arena. The home slate features 18 games to tie the 2010-11, 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons for the most in program history.
• Purdue's roster spans eight countries and seven languages, making it one of the most internationally represented teams in the nation. In addition to seven Americans on the roster, Purdue welcomed in Hannah Wickstrom from Australia, Jelena Bulajić from Montenegro, Katka Šedivá from Slovakia, Zoja Štirn from Slovenia, Anjela Minja from Tanzania, Maya Zilbershlag from Israel and Keona Douwstra from the Netherlands.
• Hannah Wickstrom joined the Boilermakers after spending two seasons at UC Riverside. Last season, she finished fifth in the nation with 23.4 points per game. Wickstrom was the only player in the nation to average better than 20 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 2025-26.
• Maya Zilbershlag missed summer workouts with the Boilermakers. The freshman led her native Israel to its best finish at the U20 Euros, finishing second, before guiding her country to the U18 B Euro title and earning MVP honors. She averaged 16.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists while knocking down 25 triples over her two 2026 summer events.
• Redshirt junior Taylor Henderson will make her debut for the Boilermakers after missing last year with an injury, capping a 599-day layoff from her final game at UNC Wilmington in 2024-25.
• Purdue's roster features players from eight different countries, its widest internationally represented team.
• Purdue's international group brought a winning culture into the program, winning more than 45 regional, national and European titles.
• Senior guard McKenna Layden enters the year 13th on the program's 3-point percentage list with a career clip of 35.5%.