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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 23 • 22 back at her right before we sat down to do starting lineups and just starting laughing. And she was shaking her head and laughing." Houser had been out since Feb. 2, when she tore her ACL on a drive to the basket. Since, she missed five games, all of them Purdue victories. The plan to let Houser play in her fi- nal regular-season game in Mackey Arena came within the last week, when Houser got the brace to stabilize her knee. "I said, 'I don't feel comfortable play- ing her if she doesn't practice all week,' " Versyp said. "And KK is like, 'I don't feel comfortable if I don't practice all week.' The biggest thing is that she practiced. We even scrimmaged Thursday and she was out there, so when she was in that situa- tion, she would be very confident with her knee. "When that (injury) happened, she's done so much for this pro- gram, I didn't care about any situa- tion except for her to be able to get on the court with the other seniors." Houser played four minutes, the first two-and-a-half, then 90 seconds late, allowing her one last opportunity on the court with Courtney Moses and Dee Dee Williams. "Tonight was very special," said Hous- er, who had two rebounds. "Coach V made it special for me, especially with my team- mates. It just felt good to get back out there and to actually suit up one last time." Houser will continue to dress for the Big Ten Tournament but is unlikely to play. She's scheduled for surgery on March 10, the day after Sunday's tourney finale. "I'm guessing I'm just going to sit on the sideline and cheer them on," Houser said. "I doubt they're going to need me. Probably not, but if coach wants to throw me in if we're winning by 20 again, why not?" projecting ahead Purdue's now positioned itself as one of the top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tourna- ment, thanks in large part to proving it can win, and win big, without Houser. In Monday's new ESPN NCAA bracket, Charlie Creme has the Boilermakers as a 4 seed, facing 13-seeded Navy in the first round in Mackey Arena. In his bracket, the winner would likely get No. 5-seed Gongaza in the second-round game. Purdue is one of six Big Ten teams in the Field of 64, according to Creme, along with Penn State (3), Nebraska (4), Michi- gan State (5), Iowa (7) and Minnesota (11). About the Boilermak- ers, Creme says "following Sunday's blowout of Ne- braska, the Boilermakers' fifth straight win over the Cornhuskers, Purdue is 3-2 against Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan State, the three teams that finish ahead of the Boilermakers in the Big Ten. None of the others are above .500 in the mutual matchups." Signee earnS national recognition Signee Justine Hall was named a high school honor- able mention All-American by the WBCA on Wednesday, one of just 30 players nationally to be recognized. Hall, a 5-foot-10 shooting guard, has led Regis Jesuit High School to a 21-2 record and ranked seventh in the latest ESPNW 25 Power Rankings. She posted 20 points, six assists and three rebounds in a 106-34 win in the Raiders' regular-season finale. Hall becomes the 12th Boilermaker to earn high school All-America recognition in the 23 years of the WBCA award, the lat- est since since Sam Ostarello in 2009. j Tom Campbell KK Houser played four minutes Sunday, getting on the Mackey Arena court likely one last time in her career.