Nov 28, 2003
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Purdue says it has more bench depth than ever, which is why it's carrying plenty of confidence these days.
Reserves Katie Gearlds and Erin Lawless combined for 30 points, and No. 8 Purdue eased past Central Florida 87-52 Friday night in the opening round of the Golden Knights Classic.
Gearlds had 16 points and Lawless 14 for Purdue (3-1), which also got 13 points from Shereka Wright. The Boilermakers, who got nine points and seven assists from Beth Jones, will play Wake Forest in the tournament's second round on Saturday night.
"When you just have five players out there that are relied upon for most of the offense, then it's going to make for some very tired legs come tournament time in March," Jones said. "That's why this team is so much different than it has been in the past."
Celeste Hudson, LaShay King and Lashaunda Slade scored nine points apiece for the Golden Knights (0-2). UCF was held to 23.3 percent shooting in the first half and 28.6 percent for the game.
Purdue opened the game on a 16-2 run, forcing six UCF turnovers in the first five minutes. The Boilermakers - who shot 70 percent in the first 20 minutes - finished the half on a 25-7 run to take a 51-21 lead into the break.
"We just gave them too many open shots in the first half. You can't allow a team like Purdue to do that," UCF coach Gail Streigler said. "They've just got too many weapons."
Gearlds had 11 of her points in the first half blitz, and now is averaging 13.5 points per game - second on the team this season.
"We picked up a little bit of slack tonight, but the entire team shot very well in the first half and got us off to the start we needed," Gearlds said.
Purdue led by as many as 39 points in the second half.
Led by Gearlds and Lawless, Purdue's bench outscored UCF's reserves 43-21. Through four games, the Boilermakers' reserves are averaging 31.0 points per game and have outscored the benches of all four opposing clubs by 11.3 points per outing.
"Our bench really did an awesome job tonight," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "Katie and Erin have shown they can give us that kind of spark when we need it."
The only blemish on Purdue's record so far is a 30-point loss at Duke last weekend, a loss that even Streigler believes isn't anywhere close to a proper indicator of how good her team is.
"They're certainly a much better team than they showed against Duke, and I think if they played Duke again, it would be a different story," Streigler said.