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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 70 other influx of athleticism. "I think there are pieces there," said Sharon Versyp, who enters her 12th as head coach at Pur- due, "but there's still a lot of intrigue and a lot of unknowns." That is a true statement. The Boilermakers have questions at critical spots. At point guard, they'll need to find a suit- able replacement for former All-Big Ten perform- er Ashley Morrissette, who led Purdue in scor- ing, assists and steals last season. And at power forward, Purdue needs an answer — maybe an- swers — after it lost versatile Bridget Perry to graduation and promising (although slumping) Dominique McBryde to transfer. "We have the talent," Versyp said in late Sep- tember, only days before the start of official prac- tices on Oct. 1. "It's just about molding it all to- gether this next month-and-a-half and that will be exciting to see." Versyp, a former point guard at Purdue, has al- ways relied heavily on the position, from FahKara Malone a decade ago to Courtney Moses and KK Houser to April Wilson and Morrissette in more recent seasons. Morrissette was fantastic last season, a major reason why Purdue finished with a 23-13 record (10-6, fourth in Big Ten), rallied to the championship game of the Big Ten Tour- nament, then took top-seed Notre Dame into overtime in the second round of the NCAA before falling. But she's playing overseas now, leaving a ma- jor void. Whoever wins the job in 2017-18 will certainly be an underclassman, very possibly a freshman. Maybe it's Tiara Murphy. Despite being a third-year sophomore, the 5-foot-7 point doesn't have much ex- perience, having played only in nine games last season before tearing her ACL and missing the rest of the year. She is healthy now, putting her in position to compete for a role, whether that's as the starter or as a top reserve, where her scoring ability might better shine. Miracle Gray, a sophomore, didn't play much as a freshman, but she is said to have improved her foot speed and agility. Léony Boudreau, a freshman, is probably better suited as a combo guard than as a point in Year 1 in West Lafay- ette. The best bet might be McLaughlin. The spring sign- ee — the Fort Wayne Homestead grad had signed with Florida before a coaching change there led to her asking out of her letter and choosing Purdue — played the point as a senior. But she's a capable scorer, more than capa- ble really, after averaging nearly 26 points last season, including a 46.1-percent clip from three-point range. McLaughlin might be able to lead Purdue's offense, facilitating for others — she did average 5.6 assists per game last season — but she's going to look to score, as well, and that could bring another element to the back- court. "I enjoy playing with Karissa a lot," Keys said. "She's a shooter, pure shooter, you have confidence she's going to knock it down. She's coming off screens, running and Charles Jischke Purdue wants Dominique Oden to pick up more of the scoring load this sea- son, as the sophomore becomes a center figure on a young team.