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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 25, Digital 3

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34 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 f getting off to a good start defensively from the get-go. When you put all the pressure on shooting and shooting, then it becomes a negative habit. My focus is the other things." BAYS LEADING WAY Senior captain Whitney Bays is seeing the majority of the attention from oppo- nents this season. And she's getting beat up because of it. The forward wrenched her back against Florida State while setting a screen at the end of regulation. She missed the overtime, then practice in the days after, but was healthy enough to make a game-time de- cision to return for the Dayton game a few days later. Then, Bays had 19 points and 18 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, al- though Purdue came up short to the Flyers. "I'm hardheaded and love the game so much," Bays said of her reason for playing. "I've been hurt so much, so it's knowing your tolerance, playing smart and being smart." Bays had dealt with injury, missing three of four sea- sons previously in her career due to multiple knee sur- geries. The back has bothered her for years, but she's doing her best to keep it as healthy as possible. "She's going to have to deal with it all season," Versyp said. "The biggest thing is trying to rehab, but she's got to be able to practice a day then be off a day." Bays is averaging 13.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, having five double-doubles this season. Her shoot- ing has been off a bit, making only 38 percent of her field goals, but that's largely due to her being the focus on de- fense's attention. "She's really good," Wright State coach Mike Bradbury said after Bays had 16 points, 13 boards and three blocks vs. the Raiders. "The plan was to pressure them and limit her touches, because when she gets (the ball) she's hard to guard." KEYS SHOWING UP Purdue's bench hasn't frequently given the Boilermak- ers big production, largely because the freshmen aren't playing much. The exception is Keys. The rookie wing is averaging 6.4 points per game as a reserve, doing so in only 18.6 minutes per game. She's been efficient, shooting nearly 46 percent overall and 44 percent from three-point range. Against Wright State, she had 12 points in her first 12 minutes of action. "That's pretty good production," Versyp said. Keys has three games this season in which she's scored in double figures, with a dozen against Ball State and Wright State and 10 vs. Toledo. But Purdue's other freshmen aren't doing nearly as much. Horrocks, a 6-foot-5 center, is the only one of the remaining four in the rotation, averaging about six min- utes per game. Justine Hall has played in eight games, more recently, while Erica Moore has been in only eight minutes total through four outings. Forward Haley Bodnar remains out while rehabbing from surgery to a stress fracture in her foot. j Tom Campbell Freshman Andreona Keys has given Purdue a big boost off the bench, but she's the only rookie making a big impact right now.

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