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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 18 • 17 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com A pril Wilson had been in such a slump that she felt the need to try something else. Having hit only 3-of-22 shots during three recent losses, part of Purdue's four-game losing streak, the junior point guard felt her confidence slipping. And if she was going to get it back, she needed a reminder of how good she can be. So the Boiler- makers put together a highlight reel, mostly of Wilson's made field goals, to try to get her mind right. "We've watched film," Coach Sharon Versyp said, "looking at when she's done things excep- tionally well, especially from last year, just showing her how ag- gressive she was and how big an impact she can have when she's aggressive." The film study worked. Since those three games, Wilson has broken out, playing her best bas- ketball of the season, perhaps of her career, while helping Purdue break its losing streak. And after Purdue upset No. 21 Minnesota Thursday, she nearly led the Boil- ermakers to a second consecu- tive victory, had her last-second jumper rattled in instead of out against Ohio State on Sunday. In the last three games, Wil- son averaged 16.3 points, on 18- of-34 (53 percent) shooting, with seven three-pointers, more than doubling her total threes from the previous 17 games this season. She also totaled 21 assists, includ- ing nine in the first half of the win at No. 21 Minnesota; five first-half turnovers against Ohio State sul- lied what had largely been a clean slate, as well. "She's our floor general," freshman teammate Andreona Keys said. "She listens to what Coach V says and we have to lis- ten to what April says. She's moni- toring all of us and knows where we're supposed to be during ev- ery play. It's a big help." Wilson's scoring is a boost to a Boilermaker team that has few proven options. Only Whitney Bays is consistent, routinely scor- ing in the high teens, with the oc- casional venture higher, like her season-high 25 at Minnesota or the 22 vs. Ohio State. Guard Ashley Morrissette, Pur- due's No. 2 option, is streaky, ca- pable of hitting and missing a lot. But the Boilermakers, particu- larly since Bridget Perry's injury in early January, haven't had a third scorer, with a player stepping up here or there, but seldom with any consistency. Wilson's an op- tion to do so, as she has the abil- ity to routinely put up in the low double figures. "Just having Whitney and Ash- ley score isn't going to get us wins," Wilson said. "It hasn't been hap- pening. It has to be on a consistent basis that our top four or five peo- ple score in double figures." During the summer, the Lou- isville native spent a lot of time working on her shot, hoping to become that consistent scorer and to improve upon a career field goal percentage that was only 39 percent. But those re- W O M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L F E A T U R E : A P R I L W I L S O N Wilson's surge helps Purdue break streak Tom Campbell After struggling from the field for much of the season, April Wilson had an uptick in Purdue's last three games. She averaged 16.3 points and shot 53 percent from the floor in that stretch. Dialing In