Women's basketball faces Purdue in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Purdue's women's basketball team was set to head to Mexico for the Caribbean Challenge last week when there was a sudden change of plans.

On Nov. 23, junior forward Drey Mingo was hospitalized with bacterial meningitis, a rare but dangerous disease that affects the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. The Boilermakers subsequently canceled their trip to Mexico.

As the Terrapin women's basketball team travels to West Lafayette, Ind., tonight to play the Boilermakers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Mingo's well-being will weigh heavily on the team. Before transferring to Purdue after the 2008-09 season, Mingo spent her first two seasons with the Terps.

"Our number one thought was for Drey and concern for her," coach Brenda Frese said. "Great kid, tremendous student. ... I know a lot of our players were able to Facebook and text her, and some said on Thanksgiving Day [that] she started sending messages back."

Mingo was released from St. Elizabeth's Central Hospital in Lafayette, Ind., on Sunday, and while the talented forward will not take the floor against her former teammates tonight, concerns over Mingo's absence will linger on both benches.

"It'll have been about 10 days since they played a game," Frese said Tuesday. "Obviously, with the added emotion of playing for Drey Mingo, there'll be a lot of different elements in this game."

The No. 22 Terps, who topped the Boilermakers (4-0) at Mackey Arena in 2008's ACC/Big Ten Challenge, are prepared for what they foresee as a physical battle.

"They're going to be tough," guard Dara Taylor said. "It's going to be a loud environment, and we're just looking to go in there and take one for the ACC."

"They're going to be very physical, especially defensively," Frese added. "Your normal Big Ten team."

The Boilermakers will be missing some of their spark tonight — Mingo is their best rebounder and second-highest scorer. But Purdue, like the Terps, is young and likes to run the floor.

The Terps (5-1) already have experience against up-tempo teams this season, having played games against frenetic squads such as No. 12 Georgetown and East Carolina. But the Boilermakers present an additional challenge in their free-throw shooting.

Purdue is hitting nearly 80 percent of its free throws this season, compared to the Terps' 65.7 percent, and Frese said keeping the preseason WNIT champions off the line will be key to victory.

Only complicating matters are the distractions of a midweek road trip and the crowd noise at Mackey.

"It's a difficult environment to play," Frese said. "You're kind of sunken in. It's very loud, and it has an echo."

Given Mingo's absence, depth — or lack thereof —could prove crucial. The Boilermakers use an eight-player rotation, while the Terps run with 10. In what promises to be an up-tempo game, those extra players could lend the Terps an important advantage in one of their final road tests before conference play begins.

"We know that it's going to be a real crazy environment," said guard Anjale Barrett, who was a member of the 2008 team that won at Purdue, 70-59. "We're just going to go down there and match their intensity and run our style of play."

cwalsh@umdbk.com