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72 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 f w o m e n ' s b a s k e t b a l l : L o o k a h e a d BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com F or the Boilermakers to take the next step, they need a blue-chip player, one who can push her team deep into tournament play. Purdue's had those type of stars before, most recent- ly Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton in 2009. But it's been since that season, when Wisdom-Hylton led Purdue to within an eyelash of a Final Four, that the Boilermakers ad- vanced past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. They've lost the last four seasons in the second round, including in March when they were upset by Oklahoma State in Mackey Arena. "You have to have kids that can elevate you," Coach Sharon Versyp said in a lengthy season-ending inter- view in April. "The recruiting piece … I think we've recruited well, and we're going to see that over the next three years, how that will pan out. "But we've got to get that stud. You've got to get that blue-chip player who at any time can take over a basket- ball game. And we have kids who are capable but you've got to want it every second." As Purdue, which finished 22-9 last year, reloads its roster next season — it'll have to replace the produc- tion of guards Courtney Moses and KK Houser — Vers- yp will focus strongly on developing that player. It could be rising senior Whitney Bays, a forward who broke out in her first season at Purdue and in some respects became its go-to player in the NCAA Tourna- ment. Then, Bays averaged better than 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, showing off an offensive versatility that made her a difficult matchup for opponents. And it may have been just the beginning. Bays had missed three of the previous four seasons, and really wasn't 100-per- cent healthy in the fourth, due to knee injuries that required multiple surgeries. Few knew what to expect from her in 2013-14 because she hadn't played in so long, but she far sur- passed hopes. The 6-foot-2 forward was named the Big Ten's Sixth Player-of-the- Year after averaging 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, numbers that gradually climbed through the year. The Next Step Versyp trying to put pieces in place for next season Tom Campbell Sharon Versyp's Boilermakers might be interior-oriented next season considering they return their top contributors from last year. Projected Purdue Women's BasketBall roster No. Name El./Cl. Pos. Ht. Hometown (High School/Previous School) 1 Ashley Morrisette So./So. G 5-9 Twinsburg, Ohio (Twinsburg) 4 Torrie Thornton Jr./Sr. G 6-0 Carmel, Ind. (Carmel) 10 Hayden Hamby Jr./Jr. G 5-7 Trinity, Ala. (West Morgan) 13 Bridget Perry So./So. G 6-2 Mooresville, Ind. (Roncalli) 23 Liza Clemons Sr./Sr. F 6-2 Fort Wayne, Ind. (Snider/Elmhurst) 25 April Wilson Jr./Jr. 5-7 Louisville, Ky. (Manual) 32 Whitney Bays Sr./Sr. (5) F 6-2 Huntington, W. Va. (Huntington/Maryland) 42 Camille Redmon Sr./Sr. (5) C 6-4 Grand Prairie, Texas (Mansfield Timberview/ Grayson County College) — Haley Bodnar Fr./Fr. F 6-3 St. George, Utah/Desert Hills — Justine Hall Fr./Fr. G 5-10 Auroro, Colo./Regis Jesuit — Bree Horrocks Fr./Fr. C 6-4 Buford, Ga./Buford — Andreona Keys Fr./Fr. F 5-11 Roswell, Ga./Roswell — Erica Moore Fr./Fr. F 6-2 Fishers, Ind./Mt. Vernon