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70 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 f MEET THE STAFF Sharon Versyp, head coach: Now entering her ninth season as Purdue's head coach, Versyp has engi- neered the Boilermakers to repeated tournament success. In the last eight seasons, Purdue has four Big Ten Tour- nament titles, seven trips to the NCAA Tournament, twice advancing to the Elite Eight. In her tenure at Purdue, Versyp has a 183-88 record and is 300-153 in 14 seasons as a head coach, earn- ing No. 300 in the Boilermakers' first-round NCAA Tournament victory in March. In the summer of 2012, she signed a contract extension keeping her on the sidelines of her alma mater through at least the end of the 2017- 18 season. Nadine Morgan, associate head coach: Versyp's top assistant, Morgan was promoted to associate head coach in April. The former James Madison guard, where Versyp had recruited her, has been an assistant at Purdue the last eight seasons and spent the year previous as an assistant with Versyp at Indiana. Morgan is in charge of guard development and game preparation at Purdue. She's also the Boilermakers' recruiting coordinator. Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, assistant: The former Boilermaker player is in her third season as a Purdue assis- tant. A former All-Big Ten selection and All-American, Wis- dom-Hylton is in charge of coaching Purdue's post players. This is her second stint as an assistant, having been at Purdue in an interim status during the 2009-10 season. Kelly Komara, assistant: One of the best players during Purdue's most successful period, Komara returned to her alma mater in the spring. She replaced Christy Smith on Purdue's bench and coaches guards. Komara, a three-time All-Big Ten nominee, helped the Boilermakers to the 1999 National Championship and the 2001 run- ners-up finish. Terry Kix, director of basketball operations: After battling stomach cancer much of the 2012-13 season, Kix is healthy again. She's in her ninth season as Purdue's ops director, with primary duties including coordination of team travel, assisting with academic progress, community outreach and marketing and coordinating summer camps. Formerly, Kix was the head field hockey coach at the University of Maine for 15 seasons, where she was named America East Coach-of-the- Year four times. Tom Campbell Sharon Versyp calls Torrie Thornton an "X-factor" because she can fill many needs on the wing for the Boilermakers. in practice, 'No, that's how it really is. We're not just pushing you around for no reason. It's really this physical.' "It's the little things, like knowing that you can't throw loft passes, stuff you might have been able to get away with in high school. It's something I went through last year, being my first season really playing. I feel like you learn it along the way. That's why you have non-conference games." The increased size should allow the Boilermakers to play better in- terior defense. Doing so last season was a bit of an afterthought, mainly because Purdue figured it could win by out-shooting and out-scoring oppo- nents. Purdue allowed 68 points per game last season, 10th among the 12 Big