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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 4 76 is very athletic, and she's using that. Her confidence is up, and she's playing really well." Farquhar, a 20-year-old freshman, was starting to play more instinctually late in the season, picking out one move to make offensively rather than cycling through all the pos- sibilities before moving. Or worse yet, throwing a move on top of another, and twisting herself into a poor shot or turnover. She'd been doing both early in the season. But it had proven hard to recalibrate, considering she'd never been allowed the freedom before. There was more structure at Dawson College — the school is a CEGEP, where Montreal students attend for two or three years after high school and before university — so that didn't allow for a bunch of freelancing. But in time, Farquhar's skill set might allow her to flourish in a more wide-open system. She has quickness and can leap, with long arms and legs that allow her to play bigger than her frame. Given time to develop moves around the basket, she might prove a difficult guard for bigger, slower players in the paint. And if she can continue to develop a 15-foot jumper — it's there now, but inconsis- tent — then a dribble-drive game from the wing could be effective. Those have come in flashes this season. "You can't teach athleticism, you can't teach her length," said Versyp, who has been playing Farquhar at an undersized 4 this season, although she might be a wing as soon as next year. "And her defense, how she can pressure the ball and be in someone's face. She can D somebody up full court, which is really nice. And because of our circum- stances, we've had her sometimes outside, but a lot in the post and she's caused some (matchup) problems." The upside is evident. She started playing basketball at about age 9, perhaps a little later than American peers, af- ter a classmate thought she should because of her height. But quickly, Farquhar showed she had natural ability. By the time she was 14, she was playing for Team Canada on its U16 squad, facing top competition from other coun- tries, including the U.S. She played the American squad in a gold medal game — the U.S. won — against players she sometimes sees now, like Penn State's De'Janae Boykin. A few years later, Farquhar played on Canada's development squad. While those were great experiences against top com- petition, her own development during those years was sometimes delayed due to myriad of injuries. Her ankles have been awful; she estimates she's rolled them about 20 times — each — resulting in sprains that have stretched and torn ligaments. She'd not had surgery but has worked to strengthen them over the years, and she's not had prob- lems lately. She has had other issues, however. She tore her ACL her senior year of high school, forcing her to miss her final year there and the first at Dawson. (Though the Canadian health care system provides free medical care, it comes only after significant delays. And Farquhar had to wait more than six months for her surgery). Charles Jischke / Purdue Athletics Farquhar has had to battle inside this season, as Purdue has gone to a smaller lineup.