Gold and Black���s Women���s Hoops Lineup
The
Starters
The
Reserves
KK Houser 22
G ��� 5-6 ��� Jr.
Houser suffered through
a rough second-round
game, when she missed
her first six shots and
had seven turnovers
before hitting a short
jumper before the end
of the half. By then, the Boilermakers were
in a 15-point hole. It was a surprising turn
for Houser, who had been playing solidly
since the calendar switched to March, but
old, bad habits came back.
Hayden Hamby 10
G ��� 5-7 ��� Fr.
Courtney Moses
15
G ��� 5-7 ��� Jr.
When Purdue plays
bigger, more physical
guards, like those at
Louisville, it needs to
work harder to get Moses open. But there was
little of that Tuesday. Moses struggled to
find openings, and dribbled too much trying to create her own. Why so few off-ball
screens to pop her open?
Hamby got minutes vs. Liberty, significant ones down
the stretch when Purdue was
up more than two-dozen
points. It was good experience for the first-year Boiler.
But as has been stated before, this offseason
is critical for Hamby, if she wants to be able
to score at this level like she scored at the
last. She needs to be stronger and quicker,
so working on getting her shot off faster is
imperative.
Camille Redmon 42
C ��� 6-4 ��� So.
Redmon can rebound and
play defense, but some of
the nuances ������ setting
solid screens, not reaching on
D ��� sometimes trip her up.
Perhaps experience will assist
in cleaning up those parts of
her game. She did some good things in the
last few minutes vs. Liberty but made some
mistakes, too.
Joslyn Massey 21
F ��� 6-0 ��� Fr.
Dee Dee
Williams 20
G ��� 6-0 ��� Jr.
Louisville���s strategy of
leaving Williams open
paid off. She took a
couple jumpers early to
try to keep the Cardinals
honest, but missed them
both. It allowed their zone to sag in and
kept Purdue from finding many openings
on the interior. Williams��� defense was OK.
She can get deflections, but struggles with
dribble penetration at times.
When Purdue breaks into
its position groups, Massey
is with the frontcourt. That���s
probably a quicker path to
the floor for her, with the
Boilermakers looking for new
starters next season. Massey played the final
few minutes vs. Liberty. She���s athletic but
raw from a skills standpoint.
Chantel Poston 43
SF ��� 5-10 ��� Sr. (5)
Poston���s career comes to an
end after a frustrating senior
season. After her knee injury
in November, she never fully
made it back and couldn���t
contribute the kind of minutes that were expected. She
showed flashes, like on her rebound and
putback vs. Liberty, but not with the regularity of before.
Sam Ostarello 32
F ��� 6-2 ��� Sr.
Ostarello had an outstanding tournament,
bringing in 29 rebounds
in the two games. Her 17
vs. Liberty in the opener
set Purdue���s single-game
record for the tournament and she probably could have had
more if the Boilermakers weren���t blowing
the Flames out. It���s a shame Purdue never
redshirted her, particularly when she was
a sophomore and struggled so badly, but
the opportunity wasn���t there and subsequently her career draws to a close.
Liza Clemons 23
F ��� 6-2 ��� So.
This will be Clemons��� first
healthy offseason in a couple
years. She was sidelined last
summer following shoulder
surgery right after the season. It set her back. Clemons
will play much more significant minutes
next season, so being in better condition is
needed. Good offseason health will be key
to getting there.
Taylor Manuel 50
PF ��� 6-2 ��� Fr.
April Wilson 25
G ��� 5-7 ��� Fr.
Drey Mingo 24
F ��� 6-2 ��� Sr. (6)
Two games for Mingo
and two in which she
was in foul trouble.
Going back to her last
NCAA game, vs. UConn
in 2011, that���s three
straight post-seasons
contests where first-half fouls took her out
of the game. It took away one of Purdue���s
greatest advantages vs. Louisville, because
the Boilermakers might have had the
edge inside with Mingo on the court. But
that never materialized enough to matter.
Wilson showed her value
throughout the season,
playing steady at the point
despite being a freshman and
showing that she���s not afraid
of being in a big spot. Several
games this year she hit big shots at big moments to help give Purdue the momentum.
Her role will likely be the same next season,
backing up seniors Moses and Houser.
The Shelf
Bays and Thornton are redshirting
as both recover from offseason
knee surgeries.
Whitney Bays
52
F ��� 6-2 ��� Jr.
Torrie
Thornton 4
F ��� 6-0 ��� So.
Manuel���s work begins now. If
she can get in better shape
and drop some weight, her
two goals for herself this
summer, then she could be
a dominating player next
season. She has shown many
times this year she has the skill set to be
very good. But her impact will be much
greater playing 30 minutes a game rather
than stuck around 20.
GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 27��� ������ 11
