Nov. 5, 2006
Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue University women's basketball team wrapped up its exhibition schedule on Sunday afternoon, handing the visiting Hoosier Lady Stars an 84-53 loss at Mackey Arena. Each of the nine Boilermakers found the scoring column led by senior Katie Gearlds, who finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
The Boilermakers played solid basketball in the first half, netting 48.5% (16-of-33) from the field and limiting themselves to just six turnovers. Meanwhile, the Lady Stars were running and gunning, hoisting 13 tries from behind the arc, but the Purdue perimeter defense extended enough to hold them to just 30.8% (four-of-13), while forcing seven of their 11 first-half turnovers. Similar to their first exhibition contest, the Boilermakers raced out to a double-digit lead, building a 16-5 edge by the 14:51-mark. The gap grew as high as 17 points, 29-12, but a flurry of buckets by the Lady Stars sliced the difference back to eight, 33-25 with five minutes left before the break. Purdue recovered in the closing minutes of the half, mounting a 13-4 run on the strength of six points from Gearlds and headed for the locker room with a 46-29 advantage.
The Lady Stars would get no closer that 14 in the second half as they continued to be trigger-happy from three-point land with similar success as the opening frame. They finished just 23-of-68 from the field (33.8%), including six-of-21 (28.6%) from three. Purdue completed the game efficiently, converting 14-of-30 tries in the second half en route to a 47.6% shooting percentage for the game. They also took over the boards after the break, outrebounding the Lady Stars 25-15 in the second half and 47-35 on the day. The Boilermakers also made a living at the charity stripe, cashing in on 19-of-23 free throws, while the Lady Stars only managed to tally one-of-three at the line.
Joining Gearlds in double figures for the Boilermakers were junior Lindsay Wysdom-Hylton, senior Erin Lawless and sophomore Danielle Campbell, notching 16, 15 and 13 points, respectively. Wysdom-Hylton filled out the statistics column, adding six boards, three assists, four blocks and a pair of steals, while Lawless chipped in a game-high eight rebounds and Campbell contributed six rebounds and a trio of steals. Freshman point guard FahKara Malone had a great all-around game as well, posting nine points, five boards and a game-high four steals.
Rob Threatt-Elliot and Candace Dark paced the Lady Stars with 11 points apiece, while Angie Nelp followed closely with 10 points. Nelp, Kina Brown and Kia Hayes led the frontcourt with five rebounds each, while Sara Nord dished out a team-high four assists.
Purdue opens up its regular season on Thursday at 7 p.m. as they host Belmont University in the opening round of the Preseason National Invitational Tournament.