After wins in the first and second round of the Preseason Women’s NIT tournament over High Point and Iona University, N.C. State heads into the tournament’s semifinal round tonight against No. 13 Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The Boilermakers come into this season after a 26-7 overall record last season and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen against North Carolina and are two years removed from a trip to the national championship.

They return three starters from last year’s team that finished second in the Big Ten, including preseason All-Big Ten unanimous selection and Wade trophy national player of the year canidate senior guard Katie Geralds.

Last season Geralds was eighth in the Big Ten in scoring (15.0), first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.57), and second in minutes played a game (35.7), and also became Purdue’s seventh fastest player to reach 1,000 points in a career.

Coach Kay Yow said she recognizes Gerald’s talent and abilities as a basketball player and knows she will be looked upon by her team to deliver in tonight’s game.

“She is the type of player you can play great defense on, but she can still make great shots regardless,” Yow said. “She can really bale them out.”

While returning a lot of familiar pieces to the team, there is one thing different about this year’s team — new coach Sharon Versyp. Versyp is a former Boilermaker who coached at Indiana last season.

Versyp got her first coaching win while at Purdue in their 67-43 performance over Belmont in the first round of the Women’s NIT, and made their way to the semifinal game by beating Hartford 83-51 in the second round.

The game against Purdue will be the first collegiate away game for the six freshmen on the Pack’s roster this season.

The freshmen have had a considerable amount of playing time early in the season and Yow said she expects nothing less of the freshmen when playing their first away game than she expects from them when they played their first home game.

“I expect them to perform well because from day one they have been competitors,” Yow said. “I expect them to have pre-game butterflies and to be nervous, but I’ve told them when the ball is tipped, make sure the butterflies are flying in formation.”

According to Yow, freshman guard Nikita Gartrell will be playing at the shooting guard position against Purdue after playing a majority of her time at the point guard position in the Pack’s first two games of the season.

“Nikita needs to be able to penetrate and score,” Yow said. “She has been having to think about a lot things when she plays point guard. I think moving her to a shooting guard will help our offense.”

Yow said the move should help improve an offense that shot only 43 percent against High Point in its season-opener, and 31 percent against Iona on Sunday.

“We have to be able to score,” Yow said. “We have had opportunities in our first couple of games, but we’re having some trouble putting the ball in the hoop. We also need a much stronger post game.”

During State’s game against Iona on Sunday senior guard Ashley Key and junior forward Khadijah Whittington were both banged up as Whittington had a collision with an Iona player that kept her playing time limited and Key played through pain.

According to Yow, Whittington practiced at full speed on Monday and will be expected to play tonight, while Key did not practice at all but is still expected to play.

Yow said Key will be assessed after the game begins, and if it is determined that Key is unable to play, then sophomore guard Shayla Fields will be called upon to fill Key’s position.

Fields led the team in scoring against Iona on Sunday with a career-high 17 points.

This game will be the Pack’s first game against a ranked opponent this season and will serve as an early test for a team that has injuries and six freshman, but it is a test that Yow believes is invaluable for the team this season.

“It is a great game to play so early in the season,” Yow said. “It will show us our strengths and our weaknesses very early in the season. We’ll be able to work on those now instead of later in the season.”

If State wins, it will earn a birth in the championship game of the Preseason Women’s NIT on Sunday, Nov. 19 against the winner of No. 22 BYU and No. 16 Baylor, who play tomorrow night.