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Center earns Big Ten player
of the week award
 By
Anne McLaren
Assistant Sports Editor
With a more aggressive attitude last week, senior
center Camille Cooper averaged 21.5 points in two Boiler wins and was
named the Big Ten player of the week.
Cooper, the Boilers’ second-leading scorer,
scored a team-high 19 against Illinois (11-11, 6-4 Big Ten) in the 83-67
win on Thursday. On Sunday, she scored 24 as Purdue (21-3, 11-0) beat
Michigan (14-8, 7-5) 73-64. Cooper also averaged 7.5 rebounds per game
in the two wins.
"She was very dissatisfied with how she played
a couple of games ago," said Coach Kristy Curry. "She’s
played huge for us, lately.
"She went so hard against Michigan …
When she doesn’t foul silly and lose her head, that’s always
a positive."
On the season, Cooper is averaging 13.8 points
per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. This is the first time she has been
named player of the week this season and the second time in her career.
Movin' On Up
After 13 straight victories, two weeks at No. 8
and five weeks at No. 6, the No. 5 Boilers climbed a notch in the latest
Associated Press Poll. Notre Dame (21-0) retained the top position while
Tennessee (23-1) and Connecticut (18-2) switched places after the Lady
Vols’ 92-88 victory Thursday night. Duke (21-1) remained fourth.
The remaining teams in the top 10 are Florida (19-2),
Georgia (19-4), Louisiana Tech (19-4), Iowa State (18-2) and Oklahoma
(17-4).
On the season, the Boilers are a combined 3-3 against
teams currently ranked in the top-25. Purdue has two victories over
No. 20 Wisconsin and one over No. 21 Texas. Conversely, the No. 1 Irish,
the No. 8 Lady Techsters and the No. 14 Louisiana State Tigers have
beaten the Boilers. Purdue also beat then-No. 25 Boston College and
then-No. 14 Stanford earlier this season.
The Race
With five games remaining in the regular season,
the chances of any other team catching Purdue are becoming slimmer.
The Boilers hold a three-game advantage over the next closest opponents,
No. 16 Penn State (16-6, 8-3) and Wisconsin (14-7, 8-3).
Because the Boilers have already beaten the Badgers
twice, Purdue would have to go 1-4 (0-5) in its remaining contests while
the Badgers went 5-0 (4-1).
The Boilers are yet to face the Nittany Lions.
There is only one meeting between the schools — Purdue’s last
regular season game — on Feb. 25 at Penn State. Penn State needs
to win three more games than the Boilers do in the last five contests,
including the Purdue contest, to capture the regular season title.
What’s next?
On Thursday, the Boilers travel to Iowa City, Iowa,
to face the Hawkeyes, who are 3 1/2 games back in the race. Tipoff is
at 8 p.m. EST. On Jan. 4, Purdue beat Iowa 73-58 in Mackey Arena.
"Iowa is an outstanding team," said junior
guard Kelly Komara. "They play very well at home. What we have
to do is … get healthy, enjoy our week and go to Iowa and take
care of business."
Other games remaining on the schedule are at Ohio
State (13-7, 3-7) at 2 p.m. on Sunday, at home against Indiana (14-7,
5-5) on Feb. 18 and Minnesota (8-13, 1-9) on Feb. 21.
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Allison
develops stress fracture
Center
earns Big Ten player of the week award
Shoulder
Hinders freshman
Athletes
of month receive recognition for performances
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
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