They're off to their best start since coach Sharon Versyp's first season.
They've dealt with the loss of Drey Mingo. They knocked off the defending national champion. They've bounced back after a lost weekend to Notre Dame and at Central Michigan. They've pieced together a pair of six-game winning streaks. They won the program's 700th game Nov. 20 against UT-Martin.
The first half of the 2011-12 season for the Purdue women's basketball team had a mixture of emotions. The second half is bound to be filled with more defining plays.
Here's one look at the 10 most important moments of the first 16 games.
Mingo's injury
Even before the season started, adversity struck.
During the Oct. 29 scrimmage at Indiana State, Mingo suffered an ACL tear in her right knee and was lost for the season. Heartbreak for the senior, who battled back last season from bacterial meningitis and was poised to give the Boilermakers a consistent scoring punch in the post.
Mingo will apply to the NCAA for a sixth-year of eligiblity.
Game winner, Part I
Nothing like a little playground move to save the day at Bowling Green.
In a bizarre ending to the first regular season game inside the Stroh Center, Courtney Moses bounced the ball off the back of Alexis Rogers and scored with 12.5 seconds left to give the Boilermakers a one-point win.
Moses was set to inbound from the baseline against the Falcons' 2-3 zone, but decided to use one of the oldest trick plays in the history of the sport.
"It was a smart play," Rogers said. "There was nothing I could do. I couldn't turn around fast enough."
Ugly win
Playing without Moses, who was dealing with concussion-like symptoms, the Boilermakers survived a slugfest against Kansas State in Cancun, Mexico.
Purdue outscored the Wildcats 6-2 in overtime when Brittany Rayburn and KK Houser each made two free throws in the final minute. The win allowed the Boilermakers to improve to 6-0 -- matching the program's best start since 2006-07.
Upset champs
It took a technical foul by Versyp to light a fire under the Boilermakers.
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Trailing by eight and later 39-30, the Boilermakers used a 19-3 run to subdue then-No. 4 Texas A&M, the defending national champions. Purdue, which lost by 45 points last season to the Aggies, pulled away to post a 60-51 victory.
Following Versyp's technical, the Boilermakers outscored Texas A&M 31-14.
Throttled by Irish
Six days after beating the Aggies, Purdue didn't have any success against Notre Dame, last year's national runner-up.
The Irish sprinted to a 25-5 lead in the first 10 minutes and cruised to a 28-point victory, the largest margin of victory in the series for Notre Dame, which has won six straight over the Boilermakers.
Collapse
It appeared Purdue would quickly rebound following the loss to the Irish, playing the next day at Central Michigan.
A 12-point lead with 14:24 seemed safe. It wasn't as the Chippewas scored 41 of their 47 second-half points in the final 14:15 to shock the Boilermakers.
"It makes me want to throw up," forward Sam Ostarello said afterward.
Bounce back
One week after the meltdown at Central Michigan, Alex Guyton helped the Boilermakers respond.
The senior center scored a career-high 19 points, including 13 in the second half, as Purdue pulled away at Auburn. Guyton made 7 of 10 field goals, giving the Boilermakers a much-needed inside presence.
Tough player
No one should question Rayburn's toughness.
She played with pneumonia against Notre Dame and Central Michigan, and didn't practice the week leading up to Auburn. The senior played just eight minutes in the first half against the Tigers, but scored 11 of her 15 points after halftime and finished 8 of 8 from the line.
"I knew I wanted to come out and help my team as much as I could," said Rayburn, whose streak of 44 consecutive starts came to an end.
Late spark
Facing the prospect of a third straight 0-1 start to the Big Ten season, Purdue needed a lift on the offensive end against Minnesota.
Antionette Howard stepped up.
The senior scored two layups in a span of 21 seconds and the Boilermakers closed out the Golden Gophers on a 15-5 run to win by four. Her second basket gave Purdue a 54-52 lead with 2:05 remaining.
Game winner, Part II
Moses strikes again -- this time at Illinois.
Her 3-pointer as time expired pushed the Boilermakers to a one-point victory at Assembly Hall.
Antionette Howard grabbed the rebound off a missed free throw by Lydia McCully with 7.8 seconds to play and raced down the court.
"She attacked and Courtney curled behind her perfectly and bobbled the ball -- I almost had a heart attack -- but the ball went in," Houser said.
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