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why didn't I just do basket-weaving, something just chill, like ceramics?" she said, laughing. "Why did you have to go for the goal? But it'll all be worth it in the end." Sam Ostarello It may have only been a moment, but in reflecting on her senior season at Purdue, Ostarello actually allowed herself to say she was happy about her performance. It's rare for the forward to announce any kind of satisfaction in her play, but one would think leading the Big Ten in rebounding would qualify. Ostarello and Illinois' Karisma Penn both finished the regular season averaging 9.9 rebounds per game, but Ostarello edged her for the title by decimal points (9.897 vs. 9.857) to become the first Boilermaker to lead the league in that category since Joy Holmes in the early 1990s. Ostarello currently sits in the third spot on Purdue's all-time rebounding list and needs 30 more to finish No. 2 behind mentor and current assistant coach Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton. After not playing much as a freshman or sophomore, Ostarello slowly evolved into a crucial role player by last season, showing glimpses of all-league potential. She delivered on that talent as a senior, becoming the team's most consistent performer, though the few struggles she had stick out. "Obviously, there are games that I kind of laid an egg or dudded out, and you're always going to wish those games back, Lafayette has helped her develop and mature as a person, opening her eyes to things she said she never would have experienced had she stayed in South Dakota. She pointed specifically to her spiritual growth, saying she's tried to be "bold about who I'm playing for, with God being my audience." No surprise, then, what she called the "hands down best moment of my career." Before Purdue's game at Minnesota, members of the Gophers were gatherTom Campbell ing for a prayer session. They invited Mingo's journey as a Boilermaker has been one of college basketball's most inspiring stories. She survived a bout with Ostarello over, and she, in turn, brought bacterial meningitis, then overcame a season lost to a torn ACL, her teammates to the group. to perform at a career-high level as a senior. "I didn't even have the ball in my hands, the clock wasn't even running. It they're games we lost. So that doesn't help my mindset any, but I'm very happy with was awesome, really cool," she said. "It's cool how the season has been playing out," Os- that the other players on other teams kind tarello said before the finale. "(Being the of know your story but don't really know No. 2 rebounder) is crazy to think about your testimony. But they understand if they because, really, maybe it's three solid years. have a prayer session, they invited me over." You go back to minutes played and things Chantel Poston like that, that's mind-blowing to me. But to Poston's life has been tougher than be behind Lindsay, I can always take a back most. seat to her, I suppose." She grew up in an abusive home, Coach Sharon Versyp always talked which ultimately led to her grandmother about wishing Ostarello had a redshirt year to get stronger and mature — and, adopting Poston and her brother. She felt saved, in part, by getting a in a perfect world, Ostarello wouldn't scholarship to play basketball at Purdue. have minded. But that didn't mean her struggles But life is more than basketball to ended. Ostarello, who admits she eagerly awaits Since being in West Lafayette, Poston the move to the next chapter in her life has been in a brutal accident after falling minus schoolwork. She's thankful that her time in West off a RipStik; ruptured her Achilles' tendon; and underwent knee surgery this season. After rupturing her Achilles', she felt like her "world was over" and literally cried herself to sleep every night, falling into deep depression. That served her well, ultimately, though, because it forced her to gain perspective. She thought basketball was life. "I had tunnel vision. If it ain't basketball, I don't want to hear it. That's not how your life should be," she said. "There are things more important than basketball, but at the time, I didn't care. So God took that away from me and is like, 'OK, now what are you going to do? Who are you going to run to?' I had to get it together. "I know that my Achilles' injury happened for a reason because I was not ready. I would not have been ready last year to graduate." She was able to do that, to not only pull through but thrive, in part because of her Purdue family, she said. It's one of the things she's most thankful for during her time as a Boilermaker, the stable and supportive relationships she has established. She didn't have many before coming to Purdue. So it's easy now for Poston to count this as a complete, rewarding experience, the basketball and life lessons. "It's been amazing," Poston said of her career. "It's been a journey. I've learned so much. I've grown up, thank God. It's been fun, exciting. Just like anything else in life, there have been some ups and some downs, but it's all been worth it." j GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 24 • 22