Purdue keeps winning in spite of recent distractions. Boiler guard Katie Gearlds: "It's not like we're stupid. We've heard everything too. It's a mark of how good a coach that she is. You just hope and pray that [athletic director] Morgan [Burke] and the administration can do everything in their powers to keep her here.

"She's the reason why I'm here. I would love to play one more year for her but at the same time, it's her decision."

This weekend Purdue face North Carolina. Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell has taken advice from men's-side coaching giants, among them Roy Williams, P. J. Carlesimo, Memphis' John Calipari, and Hubie Brown, who flew her out for a visit. Hatchell: "Men's coaches will tell me a lot, because I don't play against them."

From the same Winston-Salem paper comes a must-read profile of Ivory Latta. Coach Hatchell says Latta "wants to be 5-6, so we list her at 5-6 but she's not 5-6. But you can't measure the size of her heart and that's what Ivory is all about." (Actually, coach, you can, but we know what you mean.)