Question of the day for Big Ten women’s basketball coaches: Why has Purdue, after graduating Katie Douglas and Camille Cooper, been able to rise above several strong teams and take the conference lead?
Purdue coach Kristy Curry cited two reasons–the leadership of 5-foot-7-inch senior guard Kelly Komara and the pride and tradition of the Boilermakers program.
Purdue tradition includes fan support both in Mackey Arena, where it averages 8,732 fans per game, and on the road.
Theresa Grentz, whose Illinois team plays host to Purdue on Thursday night, believes Stephanie White-McCarty, spiritual leader of Purdue’s 1999 NCAA championship team, lit the torch that Komara now carries.
“Stephanie White’s accomplishments and leadership started it, and they passed it along,” said Grentz.
Before Curry arrived in West Lafayette, Ind., she served as an assistant to Leon Barmore at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La.
“Ruston is a little town that goes crazy over women’s basketball,” said Curry. “But the enthusiasm here is even greater. We try to give back to the community. Our kids go out and speak whenever they’re asked. But in return they do so much more for us. They’re our sixth man, no doubt about it.
“Our fan support is unbelievable, amazing, at home and on the road. They’ll be going to Champaign on Thursday. Our band is going there on its own.”
Wisconsin coach Jane Albright marveled how the Boilers have succeeded after losing 6-4 Cooper and Douglas.
“I thought Katie and Cooper were the 1-2 players in the conference last year,” said Albright. “Kristy has done an incredible coaching job. Her players expect to win, and why wouldn’t you if you won all those games?”
Ohio State coach Beth Burns also mentioned the winning backgrounds of the players Curry coaches.
“Winning breeds winning,” she said. “The leaders pass that along to the younger ones. Purdue’s players are disciplined and know their roles.”
Purdue’s Laura Meadows, a 6-2 forward, ranks seventh in the league with an average of 7.4 rebounds per game and third with a 1.78 ratio of assists to turnovers. Komara is first with 4.0 steals, second with a 2.05 assist-turnover ratio and sixth in assists with 4.63. Shereka Wright, a 5-10 forward, is fifth with 1.47 blocks. Guard Erika Valek is fifth with a .408 percentage on three-point shots.
And four Boilers rank among the top 29 scorers: Wright is sixth with a 17.6-point average, Mary Jo Noon 13th at 13.7, Komara 19th at 12.8 and Meadows 29th at 10.9.
