After coaching the University of Maine women’s basketball team for five seasons, Sharon Versyp received an opportunity to return to her native Indiana to coach Indiana University last season.

But when Kristy Curry left Purdue University for Texas Tech after leading the Boilermakers to seven straight NCAA Tounament berths, Purdue contacted Versyp and Versyp accepted the job at her alma mater (Class of ’89).

Versyp has guided Purdue to a 9-2 start, including a 69-55 win over Baylor in Waco, Texas, in the WNIT championship game.

Her team is currently ranked 13th in the country.

She said the decision to leave Indiana for Purdue after only one season was “very difficult.

“Indiana gave me a chance to come back home and coach in the Big Ten. They’re great people and were very good to me,” said the 41-year-old Versyp. “But when Purdue came calling, I had to at least listen. It was my alma mater and they have tremendous tradition.”

She said she did a “lot of soul searching” before taking the Purdue job.

Purdue won the NCAA title in 1999; has been to other Final Fours and “is always ranked in the top 15 and is among the top 10 in attendance.

“Coming back here isn’t about me. It’s about the alums who provided the building blocks for this program which have made it so successful,” said Versyp, who authored the second-best turnaround in Indiana University history last year by compiling a 19-14 record, 9-7 in the Big 10. The Hoosiers were 10-18, 3-13 the previous year.

“We had five seniors at Indiana who were very hungry to win,” said Versyp.

Versyp had an exemplary career at Purdue, ranking among the school’s top 10 in nine different career categories including points (9th), points per game (7th), assists (7th), steals (10th), double figure scoring (6th) and minutes played (5th).

Versyp compiled a 98-51 record at Maine and was a two-time America East Coach of the Year.

Her time at Maine was special, she said.

“Those were the five best years of my life,” said Versyp. “I really enjoyed the Maine people, the community and the commitment to women’s basketball. We played some of the best teams in the country.

“It isn’t an easy place to recruit but we broke down some walls. We had some blue chip players like Heather [Ernest], Julie [Veilleux] and Missy [Traversi],” added Versyp.

Versyp isn’t the only person with Maine ties at Purdue. Longtime Maine assistant Jody Benner is assisting her at Purdue and former Maine field hockey coach and senior women’s administrator Terry Kix is Purdue’s supervisor of women’s basketball operations.

She said they still keep close tabs on the Maine women’s team.

“Maine will always be dear to all of us,” said Versyp.

She feels her Purdue club “could be a Final Four team” thanks to the play of three potential All-Americans: Katie Gearlds, Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Erin Lawless.

“The group has really embraced our new coaching staff. We’re very thin [depth-wise] but very talented. When everybody steps up and performs their roles, we’re a very good team. When we’re forced to rely on just two or three players, we struggle at times,” said Versyp who has added a four-year Purdue volleyball player (Brittany Dildine) to her roster and will gain the services of University of Maryland transfer Kalika France after Christmas.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews. net.