General Douglas leads Purdue
The nation's best backcourt duo -- White-McCarty and Figgs -- has been flanked
by a tough-as-nails sophomore point guard, who's taken the Boilers to the Final
Four.
Published 03/25/99 12:12:14 AM

BY ALLISON BUELL
Times Sports Writer

NORMAL, Ill. - Katie Douglas walked over to the sideline in Monday's Midwest Regional final against Rutgers and set up for an inbounds pass from Michelle Duhart.
Purdue senior point guard Ukari Figgs lined up behind Douglas and peered over her left shoulder. Stephanie White-McCarty took her spot in formation behind Figgs and peered over Figgs' right shoulder.
Under the watchful and experienced eyes of Figgs and White-McCarty -- the nation's best backcourt duo -- Douglas has been groomed to step to the forefront of Purdue's future backcourt.
But the sophomore point guard, shooting guard and small forward hasn't taken a back seat to Figgs and White-McCarty. She's enabled the trio to form one of the most formidable guard corps in all of women's college basketball.
She'll take her all-around skills and leadership ability into Friday's national semifinal against Louisiana Tech (30-2) as Purdue (32-1) aims for its first national championship.
"It's really like they have three or four point guards on the floor at the same time," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "They will spread the floor just like (Louisiana) Tech. But unlike other teams that dribble, penetrate and dish, they can dish it, take a shot or take it right at you."
Louisiana Tech won't be naive enough to forget about Douglas. In Purdue's win over the Lady Techsters 71-65 in early December at the Boilermaker BlockBuster at Market Square Arena, she scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds, made three steals and had three assists in the Boilers' victory.
"I think Katie is the key to their team," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "I don't want to take anything away from Stephanie White-McCarty because those guards have great chemistry and complement each other. Katie is the floor general and sets the tone. She makes the other ones better."
Douglas established the tone against North Carolina in the Midwest Regional semifinal. She connected on 9 of 10 shots and equaled her career bests with 21 points and eight assists.
"Katie is a fighter," said Purdue freshman Kelly Komara, who is Douglas' roommate. "She has bad ankles and wears all these braces. I tell her she eats nails for breakfast. She's a tremendous player and I joke with her that she's going to be the next Olympic point guard; she can do it all."
Douglas did it all against Kansas in the second round of the tourney. She led Purdue with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists and was named espn2 Player of the Game.
"I just worked hard in the offseason on my free throw shooting and my outside shot," Douglas said. "Lately I've been getting increased confidence and it has helped me a lot."
Douglas leads the Boilermakers in steals with 89 and ranks third in assists with 119. The 6-foot-1 forward out of Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis is averaging 14.1 ppg., while shooting 47 percent from the field and 82 percent from the foul line.
"Katie Douglas is a hard worker," Purdue coach Carolyn Peck said. "Don't tell her she can't do something because she will work her tail off to prove you wrong. A lot of people said that she could only penetrate or didn't have a jump shot. Free throws, she knocks them down. Defense, she works on her foot work. You just need to tell Katie what she needs to work on and she goes out and does that."
What Douglas wants most is a national title. She isn't thinking about next season yet or the reality of playing without White-McCarty and Figgs in her backcourt.
"I try to help the team out knowing that it is the last year for this particular team," she said. "It has been a special year and I'll just leave it all on the floor."