Basketball team wins by using zone defense

By Kyle Charters
Senior Writer

With a little more than 14 minutes left against Michigan on Sunday, Coach Kristy Curry decided that Purdue needed to change its defensive scheme.

Trailing by two points at 44-42, the Boilers switched from a man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone.

"I just felt like it was a change of momentum," said Curry. "We obviously weren't doing a good job in the man. It can either make you look really smart or really dumb."

This time, it made Curry look like Albert Einstein. Using the zone, the No. 6 Boilers (21-3, 11-0 Big Ten) rallied to a 73-64 victory over the Michigan Wolverines (14-8, 7-5) in front of 8,216 fans in Mackey Arena.

"We were very active in the zone," said freshman Shereka Wright, who scored a career-high 25 points after starting for injured All-American Katie Douglas. "We forced them to hit some tough shots and wouldn't allow them to get any inside looks."

The Boilers limited the Wolverines to 38.1 percent (24-63) shooting, including just 36.7 percent (11-30) in the second half. Michigan also made only 3-of-16 shots from 3-point range.

"I thought when Purdue went to the zone, if we could just hit a 3-pointer (we’d be OK)," said Michigan coach Sue Guevara. "We set a school record a week ago with 10 of them. We probably should have saved a few."

The Wolverines also struggled from 3-point range in their first meeting with the Boilers. In Purdue's 65-54 win on Dec. 30, Michigan made 2 of 9 from beyond the arc.

"When we went to Michigan, our zone was very effective," said Boiler guard Kelly Komara, who had 12 points and three steals in Sunday's win. "We did a lot of things to disrupt the flow of their offense."

That experience in the first meeting helped the Boilers know that the zone could be effective again in this game.

"We … saved it until the time that we needed it," said Komara. "And we pulled the 2-3 zone out and really disrupted everything they tried to do."

Boilers win 13th straight game

Boilers end tradition at Lambert with big win against IU

Wrestlers come away with pair of dramatic upsets

Basketball team wins by using zone defense

Michigan State dominates Boilermakers in rebounds

Purdue goes cold in loss to Spartans

Player pleads not guilty

Tennis team wins one set Saturday against top-20 team.

SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111 ext. 251

Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:
Anne McLaren

To send a letter to the editor, please email opinions@purdueexponent.org