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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 24 • 20 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com N ow that its season is over, the Boilermakers are ready to turn toward the future. It's easy to see why; Purdue fin- ished 11-20 this season, including last place in the Big Ten with a 3-15 record, as it hit 20 losses for only the second time in program history. It's the first time since 1992-93 in which the Boilermakers will not play in a postseason tournament. Although Purdue showed some fight in the Big Ten Tourna- ment, where it beat Wisconsin in Round 1 then took Minnesota to the end in Round 2, that will was lacking previously. The Boilermak- ers lost 10 straight games to end the regular season, during which they were too frequently blown out on the road while losing close at home. "It came together a little too late," Coach Sharon Versyp said af- ter 14th seed Purdue's 82-78 loss to No. 6 seed Minnesota on Thursday night. "But it was enjoyable these last two games, really getting after it and executing on both ends of the floor. When you play like that, and that's what the seniors said, you need to carry it over into next year. Spring board it and remember it, because this hasn't been the season that any of us wanted." Purdue will be rebuilding around a young core next season, with a highly regarded group of four freshmen joining the five who were rookies this last year. Seniors Whitney Bays and Liza Clemons, who were at the tops of their games in the Big Ten Tournament where they averaged near double-dou - bles, will depart. But the Boilermakers, those who return, feel they can learn something from the two tourna- ment games. "The fight that we had in this tournament is how we should have played all year," said April Wilson, a returning captain. "If we played like that, I don't think we would have lost as many games as we did this season." Versyp says she has three primary offseason goals for the Boilermak - ers: To be a better con- ditioned team; to be tougher and "we have to play for each other, every second and every single moment." "I think (that) was always there, but when you have as many in- juries as we did — you didn't know who you were going to have from game-to-game — it's dif- ficult," Versyp said. "You don't know the starting lineup you're going to have, or if you have six players or seven play- ers. That doesn't make it an excuse, but we could never get in sync. And then when you lose as many close games as we did, you lose that confi- dence. We weren't able to overcome it on the floor a lot." The Boilermakers will spend the offseason looking — and working toward — answers to what plagued it during 2014-15: Poor shooting, turnovers and, at times, leaky defense. "It is tough," Wilson said. "It stinks to ask, like 'Why wouldn't you play that hard' (all season)? But we're a young team and we have everyone coming back except two, so we can learn from this and not let the same thing happen next season." PERRY RECOVERING Bridget Perry's sea- son didn't end well. The sophomore wing was battered, limp- ing through the last few weeks, including the two tournament games. There, she played only Tom Campbell Senior April Wilson will lead what will be a largely underclassmen-dominat- ed Purdue team next season. 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 PURDUE LOOKS TOWARD FUTURE For Season Stats Click Here