WEST LAFAYETTE – UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close sat on the podium outside of Mackey Arena following her team’s 83-49 win over Purdue.
As Close sits atop the mountain, helping guide UCLA to a No. 1 ranking at 16-0 – tied for its best start in history – she was reminded of what hurdles she had to overcome when looking across the bench at Purdue coach Katie Gearlds.
“I’ve been in her shoes and the challenge for her is keeping her team focused on growing in the next right step and not getting too caught up in the records or whatever else,” Close said.
Close now in her 13th season in Westwood had losing records in two of her first three years. Gearlds, meanwhile, just watched her program lose its third straight game. Seven of Purdue’s eight losses have been to ranked opponents.
More: Bonds reignited after Purdue women’s basketball pays tribute to Shereka Wright.
Gearlds is tasked with rebuilding Purdue to the pinnacle it reached during the 1990s until 2009. She was a key figure herself as a leading scorer and eventually captain for a team that reached the NCAA Tournament during all four years of her playing career.
Now as a coach, Gearlds has one NCAA tournament appearance under her belt. And like Close, their first NCAA appearances as coaches came during their second year.
Rebuilding and finding talent to match the desired team culture as Close alluded, takes time.
“To make your culture player-led is not a quick journey,” Close said. “I credit them for doing it the right way. I have a lot of respect for Gearlds, the job she is doing, and developing young people on and off the court. Culture wins. But culture takes time.”
As Purdue looks to gain its footing in the Big Ten Conference, there are positive signs during a stretch where the program will have played its fourth straight ranked opponent when it hosts Michigan on Saturday at 2 p.m.
More: New Hampshire Miss Basketball Lana McCarthy is ready to make impact for Purdue women
Freshman Kendall Puryear slapped the hand of forward Janiah Barker as the two players battled for inside position during the second quarter.
Puryear and her fellow freshman Lana McCarthy were held to five points combined but neither player backed down from the challenge of Barker or All-American junior Lauren Betts.
Betts herself recalled the challenges of guarding elite post players in practice when she attended Stanford during her freshman year. She averaged 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and shared jerseys with Cameron Brink now with the LA Sparks, and Kiki Iriafen who now plays for crosstown rival USC.
“It was definitely difficult but they both did a very good job of making my job hard today,” Betts said. “I just think since my freshman year I’ve gotten a lot stronger and a lot more disciplined as double teams have come. I’ve done a much better job of finding those open gaps with my teammates. They both did a very good job as freshmen but it’s not easy for sure.”
Purdue women’s basketball held a team meeting before its matchup against UCLA following its losses to Iowa and Michigan State. Team culture attempting to thicken as Purdue navigates through its latest bump.
Sophomores Rashunda Jones and McKenna Layden each added eight points and for a period, slowed the momentum of UCLA after it jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
“We had a reality check with our whole team and laid some stuff on the floor and we were going to recommit to each other, recommit to (Coach Gearlds) and rebuild the culture for how Purdue should be,” Jones said. “We are still in the midst of building it, but this game showed we had each other’s back no matter what.”
Gearlds is reminded each day of how progress isn’t always about wins and losses. She receives them from Close whose relationship was tightened over the years.
UCLA going from a nonconference opponent whom Gearlds beat twice as a player to now sharing in the Big Ten Conference lineage.
“I talk to Coach Cori Close all the time and she’s like ‘Kate,” Gearlds says in an abbreviated tone. “It took me nine years to get it turned around here. You’ve got to stay with it and trust your process. Cori is someone I have a lot of respect for at UCLA. And I hope she finds a way to join us as the only Big Ten team to win a National Championship.”
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue women’s basketball coach Katie Gearlds bonds with UCLA coach Cori Close
