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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 75 f BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com I t was just another day of offsea- son conditioning, more dreaded running of sprints and other seem- ingly impossible tests performed and evaluated by Purdue's strength and conditioning staff for the wom- en's basketball players. Then Whitney Bays showed up. She didn't see participating as a chore, as a joyless but required task. She was actually excited. The response initially boggled freshman Bree Horrocks. "She's like, 'I can sprint today! I'm going to condition with you guys today!' I'm like, 'I don't know anyone who is excited to condition because it feels like you're dying,'" said Horrocks, face firmly set to sell the torture. "But that's Whitney." To Bays, participating was free- dom. It was a rush. It was the first time she was able to spend the offseason conditioning since she's been in college. So she ran. She pushed. She strained. She sweat. And she was rewarded. After that first sprint, she was mobbed, buried in hugs, in laugh- ter, in congratulations by friends who also happen to be teammates. For Bays, it wasn't just another conditioning day. It was a sign, tangible proof her body was transforming, respond- ing to treatment, becoming healthy again. And it was wonderful. "Whitney has been through so much. She's been battling injury af- ter injury," fellow senior Liza Clem- ons said. "So when she accom- plished it, when she did it, it was like, 'You're back. Welcome back.'" Back indeed. Foot surgery after the season meant a slight delay to Bays' filled- with-first-times offseason, but her experience with injuries allowed her to fiercely attack rehab on the newest one and allowed her to gain new experiences: The unexpected fulfillment that comes from bonds built by sharing the awful days of summer and the assurance that comes from seeing a body change, getting stronger, getting tougher, getting fitter. "With the confidence and being able to play and run and actually condition and do the things I need to do, I feel like I'm way ahead of the schedule where I was last year," Bays said. "I got sore after it, but just being out there and being able to do the things I've never been W O M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L F E A T U R E : W H I T N E Y B A Y S Tom Campbell Whitney Bays broke through in the second half last season, averaging 13.9 points and 9.9 rebounds in the last 15 games. Add a productive offseason with that fierce finish, and Bays could be even better in 2014-15. Mystery No More Bays benefits from offseason, confidence boost