Katie Gearlds, Purdue Still Have Collective Confidence After Loss to Notre Dame
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Walk into the postgame press conference, listen to coach Katie Gearlds talk and you might momentarily think Purdue was on the winning side of a 102-58 final score. Despite the lopsided result against No. 6 Notre Dame at Mackey Arena on Sunday night, the Boilermakers' leader spoke confidently about the direction the team is heading.
Purdue struggled from the opening tipoff on Monday, missing its first six shots of the game, all good looks. It didn't take long for Notre Dame to build a 28-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Although they made a small run in the second quarter, the Boilermakers were buried by an avalanche of missed shots, turnovers and lost rebounds.
At the end of the night, Gearlds perfectly summed up Purdue's loss to Notre Dame in three words, "Damn, they're good."
It can be hard to look at the stat sheet and believe there were any positives to come out of Monday's performance. Purdue shot just 33.8% from the floor, made only three-of-16 shots from 3-point range, had 22 turnovers and was outrebounded 53-28 by Notre Dame.
Stats don't always tell the whole story, though. That was Gearlds greatest takeaway from Sunday night's performance. She knows it was ugly. She didn't make excuses. But she did have a lot of confidence coming off the floor at Mackey Arena.
"102-58 doesn't sound like it, but I love the fight of our ball club today," Gearlds said.
"It's why you play games, nonconference games, to really see where you are. Obviously, we understand we're not a top-10 team, we're not a top-five team like they are. But we did a lot of good things."
Make no mistake about it, Gearlds wasn't pleased with the outcome of the game. This wasn't an, "Aw, shucks, we'll get 'em next time," moment. She was upset with result, but excited about her team's resolve in an unfortunate situation.
It's important to remember how young and new the Boilermakers are this season. This is a squad comprised of seven underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) and four transfers. Purdue is still learning on the fly.
But one thing Gearlds hasn't questioned, even after a 44-point loss to Notre Dame? Her team's toughness. That's why she's not panicking after the first loss of the season.
"A lot of competitors. The fight and the grit from all of us," Gearlds said. "It sounds so crazy because it's 102-58, but I'm telling you, I know we're going to be OK ... call me crazy, I have some very strong optimism about our ball club and the direction we're going to go from here."
Gearlds' enthusiasm — even under an incredibly difficult circumstance — was contagious. Senior transfer Reagan Bass spoke with the same confidence as her coach following Sunday's game. There's a buy-in among the team that isn't visible to the common fan, and it's a big reason why everyone in Purdue's locker room still believes this is a team capable of doing some good things on the basketball court.
"We had two really good practices before this. We were really locked in the entire time, everyone was talking to each other, the communication was great as a team," Bass said. "So, if we go into every scout, every practice like we're playing Notre Dame, like we're playing a top-ranked team, that is going to enhance our focus even more."
Purdue has no time sit around and dwell on the performance against Notre Dame. On Thursday, the Boilermakers are back on the floor, hosting IU-Indy with a chance to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Gearlds believes her team is going to have a little extra motivation heading into that game.
"Getting your ass kicked on national television will open your eyes, and it's going to fire them up," she said. "It's going to fuel them. It's who they are, collectively."
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