Jayla Smith, Jeanae Terry push Purdue women's basketball to season-opening win

WEST LAFAYETTE – The maturity and confidence of Jayla Smith.

A rare double double for Jeanae Terry.

And a stern challenge in Thursday’s season opener.

The Purdue women’s basketball team pulled away late, thanks to an 8-0 run, and posted a 73-61 victory over Marshall at Mackey Arena to begin the second season under Katie Gearlds.

Smith grows up

Due to her academic schedule, the 2021 Indiana Miss Basketball couldn’t attend the team’s afternoon shootaround Thursday. To demonstrate the off-the-court steps Smith has taken since last season, here’s what the Lawrence North graduate proposed.

“She’s the one that comes to me and said, ‘Let’s come in at 8 (a.m.) and go through the scout,’ ” Gearlds said. “I think that’s maturity. We didn’t have to ask her; it was her decision. She’s here at 7:30. You can see it. The kid is ready to play.”

And she was ready to shoot, draining a pair of 3-pointers during a decisive eight-point fourth-quarter run to finally put away the Thundering Herd, who kept coming at the Boilermakers throughout the second half.

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Smith matched her career high with 16 points, hitting three 3-pointers. She took the same shots last year. But after a summer dedicated to improving and maturing, Smith is a different player, and the confidence shows.

“I think I was very capable, but I think it was my confidence and maturing along the way,” she said. “Over the summer, I put in a lot of work, talking to my coaches and my teammates every day, especially Jeanae uplifting me. Now, it’s being able to do it and I feel good about it.”

After last season, Gearlds earmarked Smith as the one player who needed to show progress in the offseason. But it was more about growing up, doing the right things on and off the court, helping herself and also helping her team continue to push the program forward.

“In the offseason, she took it seriously and she took it personal,” Terry said. “She wanted to come out here and show everybody who she was and who she could be. Last year, she was up and down, but this year she wants to be consistent, knowing what shots to take, knowing when to take them. She’s being Jayla.”

Double trouble

And Terry was being Terry.

She recorded a pair of triple-doubles last season but started the 2022-23 season with a unique double double. Terry totaled 10 rebounds and 10 assists and scored four points becoming the fifth Big Ten player since 2009-10 to record a double double with fewer than 10 points. She's the first player in program history to record a double double without scoring at least 10 points.

Her two baskets - the only two shots of the game - were huge to Thursday’s win.

Terry's putback gave the Boilermakers a 60-57 lead with 7:48 to play and a fadeaway jumper with two seconds on the shot clock extended the advantage to 67-59 at the 2:07 mark.

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“I strive for Purdue to win and anyway I can do that I will,” Terry said “Ten assists and 10 rebounds is what we needed tonight. The fadeaway and the putback was great but the 10 assists and 10 rebounds is what my team needs from me. That’s what I’m trying to do each game.”

Outside of Terry and Smith, the Boilermakers received solid contributions from Cal Baptist transfer Caitlyn Harper, a post player who hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points. Rutgers transfer Lasha Petree added 13 points before fouling out.

Madison Layden also had 13 points but contributed six rebounds, and five assists and helped slow down Marshall’s Roshala Scott in the fourth quarter. Scott scored 20 points in the first three quarters but was scoreless during the final 10 minutes.

“My dumb (butt) finally putting Madison on her,” Gearlds said. “We were switching one through four, but we told Madison to stay on her right hand and make her go left.”

Early test

The Boilermakers led by 14 after one quarter but Marshall climbed back into the game and didn’t go away until the final three minutes. This was a game Purdue probably would’ve lost last season but made enough plays down the stretch, thanks to Smith, Terry and Layden to start the season 1-0.

“With it being the first game, it was something good to see,” Smith said. “Can we stay together? Can we fight through it? I think we handled it pretty well.”

Gearlds said what happened in the first and fourth quarters will need to carry over into the rest of the season at some point.

“The first quarter is who we’re trying to become,” Gearlds said of the 25-11 lead. “I think that’s who we are most days in practice to be honest. We kept working hard and stayed with it and kept battling. That’s who we are. They never took the lead. I’m not so sure that would’ve happened last year.”

Ellis update

Guard Abbey Ellis participated in warmups but didn't play Thursday. Ellis suffered a shoulder injury in Sunday's exhibition game but X-rays and scans came back clean. Ellis is expected to play Sunday against Murray State.

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Sports Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc

Murray State (1-0) at Purdue (1-0)

Sunday

Time: 2 p.m.

Radio: BOB-FM (95.3)

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Who won Purdue women's basketball vs. Marshall Jayla Smith Jeanae Terry