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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 22 • 16 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com I t wasn't supposed to be this way. For seniors Whitney Bays and Liza Clemons, after hav- ing endured so much on and off the court the last several years, going out as a win- ner was probably a more deserving fate. But it wasn't meant to be, not on a Boiler- maker team that has struggled mightily during their senior seasons. Purdue's lost eight straight games and sunk to the bottom of the Big Ten, with only two regular-sea- son games remaining: the Boilermakers' road con- test at Michigan Tues- day night before senior day Satur- day, when Bays and Clemons will be honored after Purdue hosts Michigan State. "It definitely is rough, ending a season the way it's been," Clem- ons said. "But we still have time, more games to go, and playing as hard as we can is all we can ask for. And I feel like playing with this group of girls, that's all you could ask for. I love my teammates no matter if we're winning or losing. I know they'll always be there for me and me for them." Coach Sharon Versyp is appreciative of the sacrifices the senior captains have made over the years: Bays battled back from severe knee injuries that nearly derailed her career, and Clemons' personal struggle after the death of her fiancé more than a year ago, plus numerous injuries over the years. "They try to do everything to be out on the court, no matter what ails them," Versyp said. "And they know they only have one shot at it. They've stayed the course. They continue to help everybody else and know that your season isn't over until the last game." WHITNEY BAYS Bays will go down as having played one of the greatest indi- vidual seasons in Purdue history, averaging a double-double in her second year as a Boilermaker. And to think, Bays' career near- ly ended before it ever got started. She was at Huntington High School in West Virginia when she first tore her ACL, an injury that forced her to miss her senior sea- son then redshirt her freshman year at Maryland. She played that second year as a Terrapin, but not well, still struggling with a knee that wouldn't recover. Another surgery, and transfer to Purdue, brought her new life, but Bays didn't know if she could return to the form that made her a top-25 recruit nationally as a high P R E S E N T S L A F A Y E T T E L E G E N D S : S E N I O R S W H I T N E Y B A Y S A N D L I Z A C L E M O N S CheckingMadeBetter.com Member FDIC More Account Choices. Checking options that fit your life. More Convenience. Ask us about Mobile Banking. More Freedom from Fees. Let us show you the options. Saying Goodbye Bays, Clemons keep pushing toward end of season Tom Campbell Whitney Bays, whose left knee nearly derailed her career, has turned in an outstanding season.