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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 14 • 22 And that's even more pronounced against the Semi- noles and Flyers, who shot only 33 percent after half- time. "We play defense," Versyp said of the reason Purdue has played better after the break. "That first (half ) we have (just) existed, then we get that sense of urgency. We have to find the character, get in - spired, have play- ers who want to play hard every single second and bring this team along, and that's the difference. "They want to do it when I get crazy at halftime and they're down. It doesn't make sense. We keep go- ing back to the drawing board. The kids are taking responsibility; the coaches are taking responsibility. We're right there. Like I tell the kids, we're three shots away, or one extra rebound, a charge, which we have not taken. An extra hustle play, it doesn't always have to come down to an offensive play. It's defense." The Boilermakers' shooting hasn't been the best during the los- ing streak, either, as they've made less than 33 percent of their shots. But Versyp thinks that will come. They can improve immediately, the ninth-year coach says, on the defensive end. It might help the slow starts. Purdue has been down 7-0 (vs. Dayton), 8-1 (Florida State) and 8-2 (George Washington). "It's on us," Versyp said. "You can't be down by nine, 13 and 17 (at points in those games) and expect that you're going to come back and win all those games. But when you put yourself in that position (of close losses), then it's even more h e a r t b r e a k i n g . We've had looks, but we've had to expend so much energy to come back. It's more de - fense. We can't let people score who aren't scorers. "It's about getting another stop, getting a loose ball, taking a charge, doing all those things. Our offense will come. But it's about get- ting off to a good start defensively from the get-go. When you put all the pressure on shooting and shooting, then it becomes a nega- tive habit. My focus is the other things." PERRY PLAYS BIG Sophomore Bridget Perry wanted to be a little more aggres- sive offensively. And a lot more aggressive on the boards. She was both against the Flyers, recording career highs in points (15) and rebounds (eight). "Coach really challenged us at halftime to be more aggressive," Perry said, "and I followed that." Perry's work on the glass was critical and will continue to be so. Purdue's been beaten there too often, being outrebounded on the season by an average of 1.6 boards per game. But with Perry's eight, the Boilermakers held a 51-41 edge over the Flyers. It was a breakout, as Perry had only 13 boards in the six games previously. "I was kind of frustrated with my rebounding earlier in the sea - son, just because I felt like I was crashing and just wasn't getting the boards that the team needed me to get," she said. "A 6-foot-2 guard, I need to get offensive rebounds, and defensive rebounds, for the team, so doing that and fulfilling a role was a good thing." j Tom Campbell Coach Sharon Versyp wants to see the Boilermakers play with better defensive intensity in the first halves.