No Time for Memories at Reunion

It really is the women’s national championship game, but for many of the players it may at times seem like a 1996 scrimmage at Purdue’s Mackey Arena.

Together again, on the same court.

Even though neither coach wanted their players talking about it Saturday, this Purdue-Duke game is as much of a reunion as it is an NCAA title game.

In 1995-96, then-Purdue coach Lin Dunn had recruited so well that she put together a team that, had it remained intact, might have interrupted Tennessee’s three-in-a-row national title run.

But after Dunn was fired, two of Purdue’s top players, 6-foot-6 Michele VanGorp and 5-6 Nicole Erickson, transferred to Duke.

This season, those two have led Duke (29-6) to the brink of a national championship, as have the Purdue (33-1) stars who stayed put, 5-11 Stephanie White-McCarty and 5-9 Ukari Figgs.

Dunn’s successor, Carolyn Peck, deciding her players are tired of talking about it, opened her team’s news conference Saturday with this:

“We’ll answer questions about the players on this team now, OK? Both our program and Duke’s are moving in positive directions, and we’d like to keep it that way.”

Said Duke Coach Gail Goestenkors: “We won’t talk about the players who transferred from Purdue. I know you all [reporters] find it very interesting, but we have other things on our mind now.”

Instead, Goestenkors was asked about a Duke double, both the women’s and men’s team winning a national championship.

“Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke men’s coach], the day after our win over Tennessee, came into the coach’s office and gave everybody a hug, it was great,” she said.

And what advice did he offer?

“He told us to enjoy today, then get the team together that night and get their feet back on the ground, and then review everything that got us here.”

Duke, after shocking Tennessee, 69-63, at the East regional final, beat Georgia, 81-69, in the first national semifinal Friday night.

Purdue won its 31st in a row by beating Louisiana Tech, 77-63.

Duke’s VanGorp figures the pressure is off her team.

“We’re the underdogs, the pressure is on Purdue,” she said.

“They’ve been No. 1 all year and we’re the team coming in here trying to knock off the big dog.”

The Blue Devils’ defensive theme seemed to be “tough shots/few touches.”

“Purdue has the best guards we’ll have faced all year, so the key for us will be to make them take tough shots and limit their touches,” said guard Hilary Howard, who will guard Figgs.

Purdue’s 6-4 sophomore center, Camille Cooper, draws VanGorp in another key matchup.

“What concerns me is when she gets the ball, she finishes,” Cooper said.

“She shoots 75% from the floor [61%, actually]. So obviously, my main focus will be to keep her from getting the ball.”

Another taboo subject at Saturday’s media sessions was Peck’s future.

When the final horn sounds tonight, she’ll be a former Purdue coach. Peck becomes coach and general manager of the WNBA’s expansion team in Orlando, and she’ll be in a big hurry, win or lose. The WNBA’s expansion draft is April 6.