March 8, 2008
Indianapolis - The Boilermakers overcame a 17-point first half deficit to knock off No. 2 seed Iowa, 80-73, and advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the third consecutive year. Purdue will play No. 9 seed Illinois on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. EDT at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Purdue trailed 26-9 at the 9:16 mark of the first half but used a 20-5 run to cut the lead to two points at 3:12. Freshman Keshia Mosley was a key player for the Boilermakers in that stretch, scoring nine of Purdue's 20 points.
At the half Iowa held just a three-point lead at 38-35.
The lead changed hands seven times in the second half, but a steal and layup by FahKara Malone gave the Boilermakers the lead for good, 64-62 with 6:54 left in the game. Purdue led by as many as 12 points twice down the stretch but the Boilermakers were able to hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Four Boilermakers reached double-figures, led by Danielle Campbell's 20 points which tied her career high. Mosley finished with 18 points, also a career-high while Malone chipped in 15 points and five steals. Senior Kalika France recorded her first double-double at Purdue, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Boilermakers dominated the paint, scoring 42 of their 80 points inside the key. Purdue's 80 points in the most scored in a game this season and the Boilermakers also committed a season-low six steals in the win.
After just five Big Ten Tournament games, Malone has moved into a tie for fifth on the career tournament chart for steals with 22. Malone totaled nine steals in last year's championship run and has 13 picks in two games in this tournament.
The Boilermakers will play Illinois at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN2. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone numbers and ticketmaster.com.