Boilers to host Wildcats in Sunday game

By Anne McLaren
Assistant Sports Editor

Coach Kristy Curry is sending out a plea to women’s basketball fans to pack Mackey this weekend.

The No. 6 Boilers (14-3,4-0 Big Ten) host the Northwestern Wildcats (4-10, 0-4) at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Mackey Arena.

"We really are looking forward to it," said Curry. "I think with a Sunday afternoon game at home, we should draw a huge crowd. It’ll be fun."

Attendance is down this season for home games. Purdue is averaging 6,090 fans per game as compared to 9,428 a year ago. In the 1998-99 season, the Boilers averaged 9,681 fans per contest.

After a seven-game road trip in early December and starting the Big Ten with three of the first four on the road, Purdue is happy to return home. Five of the next seven contests are in Mackey Arena, including the next two.

"We’re just excited about being in Mackey and we really want to get the crowd involved," said Curry. "We really want everyone to come out and support us. Our goal is to win a Big Ten title, and we want to win it for those folks in the stand as much as anybody."

Purdue’s last regular season conference title came in 1999, the year the Boilers won the national championship. The Boilermakers have won three straight Big Ten Tournament titles.

The Boilers, who are in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, have also won six games in a row this season.

Curry said there is still room for improvement, however. She lists offensive execution as the top priority heading into Sunday’s game.

"(We need to find) our second, third and fourth options," she said.

"We need to continue doing the little things — from mixed box outs on free throws to making our free throws down the stretch to recognizing that one bad possession offensively doesn’t mean we need to have a bad possession defensively," she said. "A lot of little things we can get better at."

Northwestern is led in scoring by sophomore Emily Butler. Butler, a Greenwood, Ind., native, averages 14 points per game.

"She’s a great player," said Purdue freshman Shalician Hurns, also an Indianapolis native. "I did see her play, but I never actually played against her."

NOTES: Northwestern has lost four straight contests and nine of its last 10 … The Boilers hold a seven-game winning streak against the Wildcats. Purdue leads the series 26-17 and has won 23 of the last 29. In its last meeting, Northwestern fell to Purdue 64-57 in Welsh-Ryan Arena…After the Wildcats, the Boilers host Michigan State at 7 p.m. Thursday in Mackey Arena. The Spartans have wins this season over Ohio State and Minnesota. "Michigan State … is also playing very well and also has a renewed sense of energy," said Curry.

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Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:
Anne McLaren

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