Purdue Opens 2024-25 Season Wednesday Night vs. Purdue Fort Wayne

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team will open the 2024-2025 season on Wednesday night hosting Purdue Fort Wayne at Mackey Arena for a 7 p.m. tip on B1G+.
Tim Newton and Jane Schott will call the game for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM.
GAME INFORMATION
Purdue (0-0) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (0-0)
Wednesday, Nov. 6
Time: 7 PM
TV/Stream: B1G+
Radio: 95.3 BOB FM
Live Stats: Purduestats.com
LAST TIME OUT
The Boilermakers rolled to a 101-50 win over Indiana Tech in their lone exhibition last week. Every Boilermaker who entered the game scored and seven finished in double figures. Jayla Smith and Lana McCarthy led the way with 15 points each. McCarthy posted a double-double with 15 rebounds, as the Boilermakers recorded a plus-33 rebounding margin.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne 6-0, with the last matchup coming back in 2018.
• Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame member head coach Katie Gearlds returns for her fourth campaign after reaching the postseason in each of her first three seasons.
• The Boilermakers are 2-1 in season openers under Katie Gearlds. Wednesday will be the second time Purdue has opened at home in the last four years.
•Last year, Rashunda Jones, Sophie Swanson and McKenna Layden contributed to the highest scoring freshman class in the Big Ten last season and third highest in Purdue history at 22.9 points per game.
• After playing exhibition games in Spain and against Indiana Tech, Amiyah Reynolds is set for her first official game action in 648 days after an injury from her senior season of high school kept her out all of last year. Reynolds finished with two points, three assists and two steals against Indiana Tech.
• Sophie Swanson enters her second year at Purdue already ranked fifth in the career 3-point percentage chart for the Boilermakers (39.5%). The sophomore from Barrington, Ill., finished fourth among Big Ten rookies with 1.5 3-pointers per game and leading the league in usage rate at 29.4% last year.
• While the Boilermakers bring back just under 30% of their scoring from last year and no starters, Gearlds and staff brought in an experienced quartet of transfers in two-time NAIA National Player of the Year Ella Collier, WAC Defensive Player of the Year Destini Lombard and three-time All-MAC selection Reagan Bass. The quartet accounted for 33 points, 22 rebounds and 11 assists in the exhibition.
• Rashunda Jones earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team last year, finishing fourth among league rookies with 7.8 points per game and second in usage rate at 27.3%.
• Purdue went on a 10-day European Tour in August, spending time in Spain and Portugal. The Boilermakers won all three games played during the overseas trip and averaged 90 points per game.
• The Boilermakers’ post presence received an overhaul during the offseason with the addition of bruising freshmen Kendall Puryear and Lana McCarthy, as well as three-time All-MAC selection Reagan Bass. The trio helped Purdue post a +76 margin on the glass with 19.3 second chance points per game and outscored opponents 144-60 in the paint during the trip to Europe.
• Gearlds was inducted into the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in October, becoming the 13th member of the women’s basketball team to be enshrined in West Lafayette after one of the best playing careers by a Boilermaker.
• The Boilermakers are eyeing another trip back to the postseason after reaching the NCAA Tournament and WNIT under Gearlds.
• Every Purdue senior class has played in the postseason once in their careers dating back to 1988.
• Purdue will play nine games scheduled against teams in the preseason AP Top-25 rankings and is the only team in the nation that will face four teams in the top six of the preseason Top-25.
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