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70 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED er, just has to keep defenses honest; it'll fall to Morris- sette to be the Boilermakers' primary outside shooter, as she was last season. Purdue's leading returning scorer, the 5-9 senior av- eraged 13 points per game and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten by the coaches. But she'll continue to strive for better consistency, because when she was off, the Boilermaker offense slowly considerably. "If you are the designated shooter who is coming off screens, you have to be ready to shoot," Morrissette said. "You can't shy away from shooting just because you missed a couple. If you are the designated shooter, then the play is for you because your teammates and coaches trust you." Murphy might be able to take some of the pressure off. Although the sophomore didn't play much as a rook- ie, averaging only 5.8 minutes per game, she showed flashes. Even battling the flu in the NCAA Tournament last season, the point guard came off the bench to score six points, collect five rebounds and dish two assists in only 12 minutes. Murphy hadn't practiced the day be- fore, yet she seemed the only energy Purdue had. And now, the 5-7 point will have the keys to the of- fense. Replacing Wilson won't be easy, after she led Purdue in scoring and was its best defender, but Murphy will try. She's the Boilermakers' 1A point guard option right now, with the possibility of Morrissette backing up — she's done that a bit in the past — or freshman Miracle Gray. "It'll be a work in progress, but I really have a lot of confidence in T," Versyp said. "She is our best shoot- er, she is our best scorer coming off screens. She has BY THE NUMBERS 2 First-round losses in the NCAA Tourna- ment, following the Boilermakers' ouster at the hands of Oklahoma in Game 1 in Lexington in March. Purdue had won 17 NCAA openers in a row, dating back to a 1996 first-round loss to Notre Dame, before the Sooners upended the Boilermakers. Purdue is now 20-2 in first- round games. 4 Players on Purdue's 12-player roster from the state of Georgia — Bree Horrocks, Andreona Keys, Miracle Gray and Dominique Oden — trailing only Indiana (six). Purdue has recruited the Peach State well over the years, like Drey Mingo (pictured), partly because of assistant Nadine Mor- gan's roots in Atlanta. 42 Years of head coaching expe- rience on the bench, with Beth Couture (below) being added as an assistant (re- placing Kelly Komara) this offseason. Couture has 26 years head coaching experi- ence, at Presbyterian (13), Butler (12) and Converse College (one). Sharon Ver- syp has been a head coach 16 years, including the last 10 at Purdue. 61.5 The aver- age points scored against the Boilermakers last sea- son, the third-best scoring defense in the Big Ten, behind only Rutgers (59.9) and Maryland (60.3). And Purdue did so with small ball, having to play Bridget Perry at power forward much of the season. Photos by Purdue (Oklahoma); Tom Campbell (Mingo, Couture, Perry)