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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 26, ISSUE 3 33 percent from three-point range. "I put a lot of pressure on my- self because I expect so much out of myself and my team," said Wil- son, a Louisville native. "And try- ing to uphold the tradition here, that Purdue has, so it was rough. I questioned my ability. I questioned a lot — like why I can't do things — but I was restricted. In hind- sight, looking back, I wonder — even the other day — I was like, 'Why am I playing so much better this year?' And people are like, 'Well, you were injured last year.' "I was (guarding the injury). I wasn't playing to the best of my ability. It hurt to shoot (and) you're getting hit by screens as a point guard, you're chasing peo- ple, defending, it was very painful. "… But I put a lot of pressure on myself because I expect so much out of myself and my team and I know that we're better than what we put on film last year." But during the losing skid, Wil- son never used her injury as an ex- cuse. Few outside the Purdue team even knew of it. In the same Mary- land game that she was hurt, Bridget Perry also was injured, twisting her ankle so badly that she missed the next month. But the Boilermakers wanted to keep Wilson's injury quiet, for fear that an opponent might give her an extra push or poke to inflame the already tender rib. Wilson just kept grinding. "She could have just sat in January and not played at all," Versyp said. "I appreciate her fight and tough- ness, gutting it out. You're not going to play well, or shoot well, and can't play man-to-man with broken ribs when you can't breathe. I will always back her 100 percent." TAKING CONTROL Wilson's healthy now and it shows. With 6:59 left in the third quarter against Ball State Dec. 13, Wilson rolled off a screen to the right wing, taking a pass from teammate Ashley Morrissette. She had the shot lined up, letting the three-pointer fly. A second make came only 20 seconds later, when she took another pass from Morrissette, took a drib- ble to create space and drilled a triple from the same spot. Wilson stole away the Cardinals' next possession, then found Morrissette for a fastbreak layup and free throw that gave the Boilermakers a commanding Tom Campbell Wilson, in her second season as a captain, has developed into a great leader, earning the respect of her teammates that allows her to be direct in her orders.