Jan. 11, 2009
Evanston, Ill. - It took overtime to do it, but Purdue won 67-57 at Northwestern on Sunday to improve to 11-5 on the season and 4-1 in the Big Ten. The victory was the first win in three tries in extra periods for Purdue and the first win when trailing at the half.
The Boilermakers were led by the hot shooting of Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Jodi Howell. Wisdom-Hylton scored a game- and season-high 22 points while Howell chipped in 18 points.
Lakisha Freeman was just 2 of 9 in regulation but came up big for the Boilermakers, scoring six points in the extra period on 3 of 3 shooting.
"Northwestern shot lights out from the three and made us make some adjustments," Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp said. "Coach McKeown and his staff have this team playing totally different and we knew it would be a tough game."
Wisdom-Hylton was 10 of 16 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free throw line. She pulled down 10 rebounds for the sixth double-double of the season and the 18th of her career. The 6-foot-2 native of Naperville, Ill., a Chicago suburb, also had five assists, a season-high five blocks and three steals while playing 43 minutes.
Howell was 7 of 8 from the field, including 4 of 5 from three-point range, while grabbing two rebounds, dishing out two assists and blocking her first shot of the season. She hit her first seven shots, giving her a streak of 10 consecutive made field goals, including 7 of 7 three-pointers, dating back to her 3 of 3 performance against Iowa on Jan. 8.
The Boilermakers trailed at the half for only the sixth time this season, taking a one-point deficit into the locker room between periods. Northwestern largest lead of the game was 10 points at 26-16 with 3:39 in the first, on a layup by senior Ellen Jaeschke. Purdue then went on a 9-0 run to close out the half, getting six points from Wisdom-Hylton and a three-pointer by Howell.
Northwestern's point guard Jenny Eckhart had nearly a perfect game, scoring a team-high 12 points on 4 of 4 from the field, including 2 of 2 from three and 2 of 2 from the free throw line. The Wildcats got the job done from three-point range, hitting 8 of 21 from beyond the arc for 38.1 percent. Sophomore center Amy Jaeschke scored 11 points and collected seven rebounds, while freshman Maggie Mocchi scored 10 points.
It was the third overtime game for Purdue this season and the first victory.