Dec 21, 2002
By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Shereka Wright is off to a fast start and so is Purdue.
Wright scored a season-high 27 points and Erika Valek added 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the sixth-ranked Boilermakers over No. 19 Boston College 70-54 Saturday.
Wright, coming off consecutive 26-point games, has scored 79 points in the last three games and has the Boilermakers off to their second straight 8-1 start.
Wright's three-game total is her best since a career-high 40 against Penn State helped her score 81 last year.
"My biggest thing has been an aggressive start and that's been an advantage," Wright said. "I think my teammates feed off that a lot. It's gotten me in position to score and get my teammates involved."
The Boilermakers led by five midway through the second half before a 15-0 run put the game away. They scored seven of those points from the free-throw line and converted two turnovers into easy fastbreak layups.
The Eagles (6-2) went nearly four minutes without scoring a field goal, then scored five straight to make it 56-42 with just under five minutes remaining. That was as close as they would get.
Purdue shot 19-for-31 from the line. Boston College was only 7-for-10.
The Eagles also were outrebounded for only the second time this year, 33-28.
Becky Gottstein led Boston College with 22 points and Jessalyn Deveny added 13. Amber Jacobs, its second leading scorer at 14.3, was held to two points and missed all nine shots before fouling out late in the game.
"We came in here very confident," Gottstein said. "Some things just don't go your way. We took some bad shots.
Wright snapped a tie game and gave Purdue the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 6:59 left in the first half. Purdue took a 31-21 lead into halftime.
Wright scored 15 points in the first half.
"It's amazing because she's earning everything she gets," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "All of her shots are contested, she's bumped, she's defended very well. She's really done a nice job of countering. When they take something away, she comes back with something else."
Gottstein opened the second half with consecutive baskets to make it 31-25. Then Valek had two baskets and Wright added one to push the lead back to 12.
The Eagles though, kept the score close by avoiding fouls. The Boilermakers only had two attempts from the free-throw line in the second half until they went on their run.
"I was disappointed that once we got down, we didn't get ourselves back out," Boston College coach Cathy Inglese said.
When Boston College trailed 41-37, they were shooting 36 percent from the floor to Purdue's 50. Eventually the poor shooting caught up to Boston College.
Poor shooting also had Valek in a mini-slump entering the game. She had played perhaps her two worst games of the year, going 4-for-21 from the field for 11 points.
She found her shot against the Eagles, making six of 11 shots and added seven assists. Valek hoped extra practice time would get her back on track.
"I've been working on my shot," she said. "I've been in a little bit of a slump. I think I've been focusing way too much on it."