"It's great to have that kind of tough, no-nonsense,
team-first mentality."
The Boilermakers have seen first hand Cramer's
willingness to sacrifice over the years. She tried playing through the shoulder injury early in 2011 before
shutting down when the leg ailment added to her
woes.
It's spurred Cramer's teammates to work harder.
"Her fighting through her numerous injuries
makes you realize that even though this is hurting on
me, Carly is injured right now and is still going," KiKi
Jones said. "So I need to bust my butt to make her job
easier because I know she's doing the same to make
my job easier.
"That makes us all want to play harder for her."
But there's more to the story than injuries.
Over the years, Cramer's turned into a game-changer from a defensive position, an impressive feat.
"Here's a kid who is 5-foot-5-and-a-half and has become one of the best players Purdue has ever had,"
Shondell said. "I think that's where the respect comes.
But it's the focus, the way she plays, the time she puts
in, the intensity she plays with, the studying she does,
the coachability, that's why she has their respect."
— Kyle Charters
only Jones and Adelaja blocking in the middle. Following their own spring schedule in March and April,
the Boilermakers traveled for a two-week trip to play
teams from four countries.
The tour had originally been scheduled for the year
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In the middle, Purdue has talent but no depth behind starters KiKi Jones, a junior, and redshirt freshman Faye Adelaja. Kaisley Fisher tore an ACL in March
and is out for the season.
"It's like having only two tight ends," Shondell said.
"If you lose a tight end, obviously you're going to move
somebody to that position, but if they were an ideal
tight end they'd already be playing there. … That's
not exactly what we'd like to do. They've got to stay
healthy.
"We've got great depth everywhere else, great depth,
but that's the one spot that we don't."
But Purdue has had time to adjust to playing with
97
The Area's Premier Orthopaedic
and Sportsmedicine Center
Robert J. Hagen, M.D.
Peter J. Torok, M.D.
Michael E. Highhouse, M.D.
Daniel J. Daluga, M.D.
Mark C. Page, M.D.
John T. Bauman, M.D.
Michael D. Krauss, M.D.
765.447.4165 | www.lafayetteortho.com
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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 1
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