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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 10 • 43 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com F or the first couple games of the season, Ashley Morrissette will be the Boilermakers' starting point guard. The sophomore will get a one- game apprenticeship — Purdue plays its first exhibition Sunday af- ternoon vs. Findlay — before the Boilermakers open Nov. 14 at Ball State. Morrissette's forced over to running the point due to April Wil- son's two-game suspension, which she'll serve against the Oilers, then the Cardinals. But Coach Sharon Versyp is confident in Morrissette's ability to lead the Boilermakers. "She had some experience last year and now she's embracing it," Versyp said. "Your freshman year, you make mistakes and it's tough, but she's really embracing it. And Hayden (Hamby) has been doing some really good things and totally understands the system as a junior." But Morrissette is likely to get the most minutes at the point, and she feels she's ready. It was a year ago that the Ohio native got off to an extremely quick start to the sea - son, averaging 6.3 points in only 9.6 min- utes per game in the first seven contests. But she leveled off af- terward, not scoring in 14 games the rest of the season and not even playing in four others. But those things that held her back during the Big Ten season — physicality mainly — she's worked to correct. "Cardio, weights, shooting," she said of her offseason plan. "I've even worked on defense, to be honest. "When you put more work in during the summer, it's easier to come out on the court during game time because it's like you've been there before and you feel more con - fident, more confident in your shot, in being on the court, so I feel that's really helped me." When Wilson returns for Pur- due's second regular-season game, Morrissette will slide back over to her natural off- guard position, but she'll still have to back up the point. W h e r e v e r , Morrissette will need to score, as Purdue tries to find points to re- placed the gradu- ated Courtney Moses and KK Houser. "I came here to play. I am here to play, I'm ready," Morrissette said. RANKING UP ESPN ranks Purdue's 2015 re- cruiting class No. 7 in the country, the top unit in the Big Ten, ahead of Nebraska (8), Maryland (10), Penn State (11), Michigan (15) and Iowa (18). The site ranks forward Domi- nique McBryde as the No. 28 player in the class, with Tiara Mur- phy No. 30 and Lamina Cooper 44th. The trio of Indiana natives are five-star recruits. Center Nora Kiesler, who was injured much of last season, is a three-star, accord- ing to ESPN. j Tom Campbell Ashley Morrissette will be Purdue's starting point guard the first two games, then its backup after. 2014-15 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time Nov. 9 FINDLAY (exb.) (BTN Plus) 2 p.m. Nov. 14 at Ball State 7 p.m. Nov. 19 GREEN BAY 5:30 p.m. Nov. 23 TOLEDO (BTN Plus) 2 p.m. Junkanoo Jam, Freeport, Bahamas Nov. 28 Texas Tech 3:15 p.m. Nov. 29 Geo. Washington/N Carolina 1/3:15 p.m. Big Ten/ACC Challenge Dec. 3 FLORIDA STATE (BTN Plus) 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at Dayton 2 p.m. Dec. 11 KANSAS (BTN Plus) 7 p.m. World Vision Classic Dec. 19 UC IRVINE Noon Dec. 20 DENVER 2:30 p.m. Dec. 21 WRIGHT STATE 2:30 p.m. Dec. 28 at Illinois (BTN Plus) 3 p.m. Jan. 1 MINNESOTA (BTN Plus) 2 p.m. Jan. 4 INDIANA (BTN Plus) 2 p.m. Jan. 8 at Maryland (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at Iowa (BTN) TBA Jan. 15 WISCONSIN (BTN Plus) 7 p.m. Jan. 19 at Nebraska (BTN) 7 p.m. Jan. 22 at Minnesota (BTN Plus) 8 p.m. Jan. 25 OHIO STATE (BTN Plus) 2 p.m. Jan. 29 RUTGERS (BTN) 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at Indiana (BTN) 8:30 p.m. Feb. 8 PENN STATE (BTN Plus) 2 p.m. Feb. 11 NORTHWESTERN (BTN Plus) 7 p.m. Feb. 14 at Rutgers (BTN) Noon Feb. 17 at Ohio State (BTN) 7 p.m. Feb. 21 ILLINOIS (BTN/BTN Plus) TBA Feb. 24 at Michigan (BTN) 7 p.m. Feb. 28 MICHIGAN STATE (BTN) 2 p.m. March 4-8 Big Ten Tournament* TBA * Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Ill. All times ET W O M E N ' S BA S K E T BA L L : N E W S A N D N OT E S Double vertime TO THE POINT FLASH FORWARD Opponent: Findlay Location: Mackey Arena When: 2 p.m. Sunday Notables: The game is Purdue's only public exhibition before opening the season Nov. 14 at Ball State. … It is the first meeting between Purdue and Findlay. … April Wilson will serve the first of her two-game suspension following an off-season arrest. … The Oilers are picked to finish fourth in the South Division of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, a Division II league, as the league office released their preseason poll. … Findlay returns its top five scorers from a team that went 12-14 last season.