Purdue women's basketball freshmen gain valuable experience in close loss to Ohio State

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue freshman Mary Ashley Stevenson's face was red and swollen while the top of her nose was covered in a band and a bag of ice lay at her side.

Stevenson took a direct elbow from sophomore forward Cotie McMahon. McMahon spun in the lane and the bony tip of her elbow hit Stevenson flush. Coach Katie Gearlds later confirmed Stevenson had a broken nose.

Sitting inches to Stevenson's left was fellow classman Rashunda Jones who, a 5-foot-9, got flattened and laid sprawled for nine seconds after a screen from Ohio State sophomore Emma Shumate.

But just like Stevenson, Jones too made the 10-count. Even in another tight 71-68 defeat at the hands of a ranked opponent, Jones and Stevenson displayed resiliency on the court and were candid about their feelings following their fifth consecutive loss.

Stevenson and Jones were solid once again. Jones scored 14 points while Stevenson scored 12 points and logged 17 minutes despite her injury.

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"It's tough I'm not going to lie," Stevenson said. "It's tough to play in the Big Ten and we knew that coming in. It is a fight to the death."

And there were no laurels to be rested upon for Jones who has lost more games (11) this season than her final three years at South Bend Washington High School, where she lost nine.

"It's never good to lose, no one likes to lose and losing isn't in our team," Jones said. "It sucks whether you're losing by three or lose by one."

Purdue (9-11, 2-7 Big Ten Conference) suffered its first 5-game losing streak during coach Katie Gearlds' tenure. The Boilermakers hadn't lost five straight games since the COVID season under Sharon Versyp in 2021.

The Boilermakers haven't tasted victory since beating Rutgers 77-76 on Jan. 2. The latest shortcoming mirrored what occurred against Indiana. A quick start on offense scoring 19 points was followed by shooting 25% in the second quarter.

Shooting slumps in the second quarter has been a reoccurring problem for Purdue which shot just 35.3% in the period against the Hoosiers.

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"We started to press, tried figuring out different lineups to jump start the second quarter and McKenna (Layden) had 3 points, Mila (Reynolds) had 5 points," Gearlds said. "We are searching for the answers. We tried picking up the press and create some juice. We missed a lot of open shots to start the game and missed some open shots in that second quarter. Sometimes that's just the game of basketball."

Jones and Stevenson have continued to put together stellar performances even if the results haven't shown up in the win column lately. Both players were a combined 9-of-19 from the floor and believe the results will come.

In what was always expected to be a transitional year for Purdue, Jones and Stevenson have solidified themselves as the rising stars on a program that consists of six underclassmen. Sophomore Mila Reynolds logged 14 minutes with five points, blocked two shots and drew a charge while being a buffer to forward Rebeka Mikulasikova in the paint.

Fellow freshman McKenna Layden and Sophie Swanson each hit 3-pointers off the bench while Gearlds' was forced to switch lineups and use different looks while incorporating a 1-2-2 zone defense after Stevenson's injury.

"I just have to keep reminding myself that I am learning and we are learning so much from these games," Stevenson said. "Even though we are losing games, I'm gaining confidence."

Reynolds in some ways is getting her first taste of meaningful minutes after rarely seeing the floor last season at Maryland. Gearlds has seen Reynolds grow before her eyes in practice.

"We tell her all the time that when she's locked in during practice than we have great confidence putting her in the game," Gearlds said. "I hope she can continue to bring it moving forward."

The mystery continues for Purdue, a team looking to find both its identity and path towards becoming an NCAA title contending team. The Boilermakers played two quality games at home in back to back weeks against ranked opponents — even if the results were not wins.

Moments like Jones hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie Indiana in the third quarter last week have been also hamstrung by scoring inconsistencies. The Boilermakers seem close to figuring out that puzzle to flip tight games into wins.

Winning those key games and becoming what Gearlds envisions for her program is taking place. The results just might not show this season.

Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@gannett.com, on Twitter at EthanAHansonand Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue women's basketball: Freshmen gain experience vs. Ohio State