Alumni: March 2009 Archives

Purdue senior and Neuqua Valley graduate Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton doesn't mind that the Boilermakers will be facing not only top-seeded Oklahoma on Tuesday night, but a crowd that will be almost entirely pro-Sooner.

"It's better than playing in front of no fans," Wisdom-Hylton told the Heat Index on Monday afternoon from Oklahoma City. "Bring them on. We just use it as extra motivation. It's going to be a great atmosphere and it's going to be great for women's basketball no matter what."

More than 10,000 fans were at the Ford Center to watch the Sooners beat Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16 on Sunday. Tuesday's crowd will likely top that as Sooners fans take the short drive from Norman to Oklahoma City.

"The more fans just kind of heightens the excitement for us," Wisdom-Hylton said. "We've played in situations like that. Minnesota has a great arena and a great fan base. Michigan State, as well. We've been in situations just like this, so I think we're prepared."

For more from Wisdom-Hylton and her teammates, click here.

Her focus is clearly on the NCAA Sweet 16, but Purdue senior Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton can rest assured the WNBA will be calling when her college days are over.

The former Neuqua Valley standout is poised to become a first-round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft, which is April 9 in Secaucus, N.J. There's talk Wisdom-Hylton will be a mid- to late first-round selection.

That means it's unlikely she'll go to a team looking for her to be a star right away. By going later in the first round, she'll end up on a playoff-type team that may be a piece or two away from putting it all together.

Some speculation exists that teams were scared off by the knee injury that kept her from playing last season. But Wisdom-Hylton's performance in the Big Ten tournament and the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament should put those concerns to rest.

While Wisdom-Hylton is optimistic about her future professional days, she's also realistic.

"I'm excited to see what the future holds," she said. "Maybe playing overseas is in my future. The WNBA isn't final; a major team just folded. So you don't know your lifespan in the WNBA."

Neuqua Valley graduate Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton scored all of her 15 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough as Purdue fell 67-66 to Ohio State in the Big Ten women's basketball tournament championship in Indianapolis, Ind.

Wisdom-Hylton, who was named to the all-tournament team, missed nearly 14 minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls. Purdue, which lost in the tournament final for the first time in three years, now awaits a possible at-large bid for the upcoming NCAA women's tournament.

Neuqua Valley graduate Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, a Purdue senior, has made a successful return this season from an ACL injury, as evidenced by her Big Ten awards Monday night.

Wisdom-Hylton was one of two unanimous choices on the All-Big Ten first team, while also being named to the All-Defensive Team for the third time.

From Purdue's news release:

For the second time in her career, Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton was named first team All-Big Ten by the coaches and the media and for the third time is a member of the All-Defensive team. Wisdom-Hylton was one of two unanimous selections by the coaches to the first team. The senior forward finished the regular season ranked second in the Big Ten in both rebounding and steals, averaging 9.1 boards and 2.6 steals per game. Wisdom-Hylton also ranked in the top-10 in scoring and field goal percentage, averaging 12.8 points per game on 49.2 percent shooting. She leads the team in scoring and rebounding, is tied for the team lead in blocks averaging 1.6 per game, and is second in assists and steals.