Jan 2, 2003
By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Shutting down Purdue's two leading scorers was the easy part for Tulane. The inability to slow down its other three starters cost the Green Wave a victory.
Erika Valek matched a season high with 23 points, Beth Jones added 15 and Lindsey Hicks 14 as seventh-ranked Purdue beat the Green Wave 76-66 Thursday night.
They combined to shoot 18-for-33 and scored 28 of their points in the second half while leading a decisive 10-2 run. The trio also compensated from off-nights from Shereka Wright and Mary Jo Noon, Purdue's top scorers.
Wright, averaging 20.1 points, and Noon, at 11.9, were held to eight points apiece. Wright hadn't scored fewer than 14 points this season.
"We're not just one player," Hicks said. "Anyone can step up and that was really important tonight. A lot of people think if you shut Shereka down, we won't do anything."
They're doing plenty. The Boilermakers are off to their first 10-1 start in four years. The 1998-99 team started 2-1, then won 32 straight games and the national championship.
Tulane (8-3) was coming off a win over No. 19 Boston College and turned a four-point halftime deficit into a one-point lead early in the second half.
Kelly Nadeau, who led Tulane with 14 points, quickly hit three 3-pointers, and Muci Harris added one. That gave the Green Wave a 42-41 lead four minutes into the second half.
But Valek, Hicks and Wright scored six straight points as Purdue regained the lead for good.
Purdue built its lead to 58-50, but the Green Wave had a rally of their own.
Teana McKiver converted a 3-point play to make it 58-53, and Lakethia Hampton added one moments later to make it 62-58. McKiver put back her own miss, and Purdue's lead was down to 62-60 with 5:06 remaining.
That was as close as Tulane would get.
Noon would follow with a basket, Valek stole the inbounds pass which led to her sinking two free throws and an offensive foul on McKiver was converted into a short jumper by Jones. That put the lead back at eight points.
"We have to understand these are the types of situations we're going to face throughout the year," Hicks said. "In the end, we came out with a victory. We did the things we needed to do to come out on top."
Like make the crucial stops and force turnovers.
Valek had six steals and Tulane had 25 turnovers. The turnovers, and only 7-for-8 shooting from the free-throw line, were the difference, said Tulane coach Lisa Stockton.
"I thought in the last four minutes, their execution was very, very good and we made some critical mistakes," she said. "We need to get to the free-throw line more than that. It's a tough thing to beat."
Stockton said the game plan was to keep Wright and Noon off the boards, and that part was successful - Tulane outrebounded Purdue 38-27. The Green Wave just didn't have an answer for Hicks, Valek and Jones.
"Shereka's a big part of our offense, but Beth and Lindsey stepped up a lot and hit key shots for us," Valek said. "They got some key rebounds when we needed them."
McKiver finished with 11 points and Gwen Slaughter 10 for Tulane.
Purdue was 18-for-21 from the free-throw line.
Tulane made eight of its first 11 shots and raced to a 19-12 lead midway through the first half. After Slaughter turned her steal into a layup, Purdue coach Kristy Curry called a timeout for her team to regroup.
Whatever Curry said worked for a while. Purdue went on a 21-9 run and took a 34-30 lead into halftime.