Nov. 24, 2006
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) - Coming off wins against ranked teams, Purdue was a little sluggish in its victory over Arkansas State.
Katie Gearlds scored 17 points and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and FahKara Malone each added 15 points for the 10th-ranked Boilermakers, who beat Arkansas State 67-61 on Friday night.
The Boilermakers (6-0), fresh off wins over No. 23 Washington and No. 16 Baylor, relied on a 21-0 first-half run and another late flurry to pull away for the win.
"We're leaving here and they're not feeling like they won the game and that's a good thing, Purdue coach Sharon Versyp said "You can't be satisfied. You've got to always be the hunter, not the hunted. We played like individuals."
Rudy Sims scored 23 points for Arkansas State (2-3).
Arkansas State led 16-9 with 13:25 to play in the first half, but Purdue held the Lady Indians scoreless for nearly nine minutes. The taller Boilermakers forced ASU into nine turnovers during their run as they surged to a 30-16 lead. Arkansas State's Lindsay Schlup sank a baseline jumper with 4:28 to play in the half to end a run of 21 straight points by Purdue.
The Lady Indians went on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 36-33 with 40 seconds left in the half.
Purdue led by six at halftime but gave up a 9-2 to run to start the second half to trail 42-41 with 16:11 to play.
But the Boilermakers put the game out of reach over the next six minutes with an 11-2 run fueled by freshman point guard Malone, who scored eight points to help the Boilermakers to a 59-48 lead with 9:02 to go.
Arkansas State didn't get closer than five the rest of the way.
"They kept fighting and I'm very proud of them," Arkansas State coach Brian Boyer said. "I thought they gave us a chance to win in the end but the bottom line is it's still a loss."
The Lady Indians managed to equal Purdue on the boards with 35 each but committed 22 turnovers in the loss, including 13 in the first half.
"I didn't think we played great defense tonight," Versyp said. "But the steals that we did get were when passes were trying to go over the top of us, and that's been a key for us on the defensive end."