'Unheralded' Wright impressive at Purdue

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Shereka Wright will likely have to win the national championship to get the respect she deserves.
Slighted in the past because of a poor outside shot, Wright is shooting down her critics in her senior season at Purdue. Not only is Wright's 54.8 percent from the field an improvement of more than seven points from last season, but the shots are coming late in games and often with Purdue in peril.
With a tough Big Ten schedule still to play, Wright again figures to be the difference for No. 6 Purdue down the stretch as the Boilermakers make a run at their second national title in five years. "I mean, that's what I was brought here for," Wright said. "This is my senior year, and I definitely want to go out with a bang."
So, I'm just going to do everything my team needs."
Wright is averaging 18.2 points this season, which ranks her fifth among Big Ten leaders. She is ninth in the conference in field-goal percentage. Her 616 of 858 career free throws are the most in school history.
"I think the thing that's impressed me the most is that she's made an impact as a person," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said.
Curry recruited the 5-foot-10 Wright out of Copperas Cove, Texas, while she was an assistant at Texas A & amp;M and Louisiana Tech.
"She has done more for her program -- and that's to take nothing away from the other great seniors in our league -- but the numbers speak for themselves," Curry said.
Wright hasn't missed a game in three seasons at Purdue or a start since her sophomore year. That season, the Boilermakers reached the NCAA title game, losing to in-state rival Notre Dame in the waning minutes.
Once the euphoria dissipated, critics cited Wright for a slumping 3-point average, which dropped from 51.3 percent in her freshman year to a career-low 23.5 percent. She then broke her left hand in last season's Big Ten opener against Penn State.
"At first, it was very difficult playing with it because I was worried about falling on it," Wright said. "I was really worried about the injury instead of just going out there and playing."
Outside attack
This season, Shereka is shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range. The improved outside touch gives Wright an extra dimension to her game.
On the road against Houston, Wright scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half, including the last five with 1:48 left to seal a 66-63 win.
Two weeks later, down 58-57 to UC Santa Barbara with less than two minutes to play, Wright responded with a jumper, then a 3 on consecutive possessions. That pushed the Boilermakers winning streak to seven straight and her point total to a season-high 23.
"The kid's the most unheralded player in this country, and it's pretty frustrating," Curry said. "She could shoot every time down the floor, but she's more team oriented."
Wright's eagerness to make those around her better has made it tough for her to stand out among other talented forwards.
Last season, Wright was a third-team All-American, behind Connecticut's Diana Taurasi and Mississippi State senior LaToya Thomas.
Wright and the Boilermakers will need a strong finish if she is going to nudge Stanford's Nicole Powell -- a preseason selection -- out of Thomas' spot.
Playing her first three years behind Purdue players such as Camille Cooper and Katie Douglas has afforded Wright some measure of anonymity, but she is careful not to let it get to her.