The Exponent - additions


03-26-2004	Previous edition: 03-25-2004

Season ends on missed Valek layup

Brent Drinkut/Chief Photographer

Senior guard Erika Valek's eyes fill with tears as she explains how she missed a potential game-tying layup at the buzzer in Seattle Saturday night. Purdue lost to Georgia 66-64 in the NCAA Tournament.

Additional images

By John Kraft
Assistant Sports Editor

SEATTLE — Purdue’s season wasn’t supposed to end like it did on Saturday night.

Not in Seattle, not in the Sweet 16 and not so unceremoniously.

But when senior point guard Erika Valek missed a potential game-tying open layup at the buzzer, the Boilermaker season ended with a 66-64 loss to Georgia.

After the finish, Valek stood hunched over on the court, her season over.

"We wanted to attack and get the last basket and it was wide open," Valek said. "But it just slipped away. It was way off.

"We tasted it; we tasted overtime. We felt it. It’s just hard right now to take."

It was the sort of missed shot that gets replayed on television and that always gets talked about, but coach Kristy Curry wants to forget about it already; and she wants the focus off Valek.

"I think too much emphasis is going to be put on that missed shot," Curry said. "I just want the focus taken off of her."

The two teams jockeyed back and forth throughout the waning moments of the game, leading up to the final play.

Purdue had a five-point lead and the ball with less than two minutes left after technical foul on Georgia’s Janese Hardrick for slapping the ball while the Boilermakers were trying to inbound.

But Purdue didn’t score on its possession and the Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to finish the game’s scoring.

To even get to a position to lead the game, the Boilermakers had to make another second-half run to get back into the game. The Boilermakers trailed by as much as 13 in the first half and were behind 43-34 at the break.

Despite starting the game sharp — and ahead by as many as seven in the first five minutes — Purdue couldn’t escape its tendency to fall behind in the first half. Unlike the game against Villanova, the first half trouble may have been the difference in the game.

Going into the game, Curry was concerned about her team giving up offensive rebounds to the Bulldogs. The concern was necessary — Georgia outrebounded the Boilers by 10 in the first half, collecting eight offensive rebounds.

"They were being aggressive and they were taking every opportunity to get inside and get the second chance points off the rebounds," senior forward Shereka Wright said.

Whatever the cause for the loss — Valek’s miss, rebounding or some other facet of the game — the Purdue basketball careers for the four senior is over.

"They’re going to be successful in the big game — and that’s the game of life," Curry said.

Purdue finished the season 29-4. Georgia, meanwhile, is 25-9 and will face LSU (26-7) for the West Regional championship. LSU upset top seeded Texas, 71-55, earlier on Saturday night.

The Boilermakers were led by Wright with 13 while Erin Lawless had 12. Lindsay Hicks and Valek also scored in double figures with 10 each. Georgia was led by Janese Hardrick with 17 while Christi Thomas with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

GEORGIA 66, PURDUE 64

GEORGIA (25-9)

Rowsey 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas 5-8 4-4 14, Baker 3-10 3-4 9, Hardrick 7-12 1-1 17, Kendrick 2-9 5-6 9, Pierce 5-10 0-0 10, Chambers 2-3 0-0 5, Felder 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 25-54 13-17 66.

PURDUE (29-4)

Hicks 4-9 0-0 10, Wright 5-14 3-5 13, Heikes 2-7 0-0 4, Jones 1-4 0-0 3, Valek 4-11 2-2 10, Gearlds 3-5 0-0 8, Lawless 6-9 0-0 12, Webb 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 26-60 7-9 64.

Halftime-Georgia 43, Purdue 34. 3-Point goals-Georgia 3-13 (Hardrick 2-5, Chambers 1-2, Baker 0-1, Pierce 0-1, Kendrick 0-4), Purdue 5-8 (Gearlds 2-2, Hicks 2-4, Jones 1-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Georgia 36 (Thomas 10), Purdue 25 (Heikes 9). Assists-Georgia 11 (Baker, Hardrick, Kendrick 3), Purdue 11 (Wright, Valek 3). Total fouls-Georgia 12, Purdue 15. Technicals-Georgia bench, Hardrick. A-4,620.