If the 1998 Boilermakers had a slogan, it would have been "Just Win Baby." Because that's what they did. They weren't a flashy or spectacular team. What they were was a team that was fundamentally sound, focused, competitive and gritty.

Purdue has had as much off-court tumult as any program in the country. The Boilermakers have had three coaches in four years and coach Carolyn Peck announced prior to the 1998 season that she would jump to the WNBA at the conclusion of the year. Instead of this merry-go-round being a distraction, it served to toughen the Boilers mentally.

Peck used a three-guard offense, and those three -- Stephanie White-McCarty, Ukari Figgs and Katie Douglas -- were arguably the top guards in the country. They were the heart and soul of the team. The Boilermakers were not a team that was high-powered offensively. They did not blow teams away. They just beat everybody. And when the team needed a play made, they got it, and they got it from one of the three. Whether it was a Douglas basket and steal to clinch the overtime win at Iowa, White-McCarty's two free throws with two seconds left to provide the winning margin at Minnesota, or Figgs' basket that gave Purdue the lead with two minutes to play in a five-point win over Penn State, the three consistently did whatever was necessary to win.

Naturally, the team centered its offense around its three guards. White-McCarty, Figgs and Douglas scored two-thirds of Purdue's points and had over 80% of the teams assists. Not surprisingly for a guard-oriented team, the Boilermakers were an exceptional passing team and a team that ran its plays precisely and rarely took bad shots.

Defensively they were also solid. Peck rotated defenses and periodically threw in a nasty full-court press. The Boilermakers were not an exceptionally quick team, but they outworked most of their opponents and rarely gave up bad shots. They also played smart defense and did not commit many fouls.

Post play never became a strength but Michelle Duhart and Camille Cooper had solid seasons, averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds between them. Rebounding is frequently a matter of hard work and it may have been in this area that the Boilers work ethic showed. All five starters averaged at least 4.5 boards and the team outrebounded its opponents.

It does not diminish the Boilermakers' accomplishments to say that they were the beneficiaries of some good luck. Luck is simply a part of sports. Six Purdue players, the five starters and Kelly Komara, got over 87% of Purdue's minutes, with the Big 3 getting 52% themselves. None of the six lost time to injuries. Only once in the entire season did one of the six foul out of a game. That essentially neutralized the perceived depth problems.

Ultimately what Purdue was was simple. They went out and did what they did best and dared teams to stop them. Other than Stanford, which managed a one-point win early in the season on a shaky call at the buzzer, no one did.

Sharon's Big Ten Women's Basketball Page