Jan. 15, 2009
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team finished the final seven minutes of the second half on a 19-8 run to beat Penn State 59-48 Thursday night. Junior Jodi Howell led the Boilermakers in scoring with 17 points including going 5 of 9 from three-point range.
Purdue and Penn State were knotted 40-40 at the 7:40 mark in the second half before freshman Alex Guyton knocked down a shot to give the Boilermakers a two-point edge. Guyton's career-high seventh point started a 10-0 Purdue run that was was capped off by a Brittany Rayburn free throw.
Howell kept Purdue close, knocking down five three-pointers to tie a season high. Howell started slowly, hitting only one of her first five attempts, but went on a hot streak early in the second half, connecting on three threes in a row. The Alexandria, Ind., native finished with 17 points, three rebounds and one steal.
Senior Lakisha Freeman was Purdue's second-leading scorer, cashing in for 15 points, seven of which came from the foul line. She also contributed a game-high six assists which ties her career-high.
Rayburn finished with 10 points while Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton pulled down 13 boards to turn in her ninth game this season with double-digit rebounds. Wisdom-Hylton's 13 rebounds tied a season high.
The Purdue victory, coupled with a loss by Ohio State Buckeyes, moves Purdue into a three-way tie with the Buckeyes and Indiana, for first place in the Big Ten standings.
Purdue will be back in action on Monday, Jan. 19 when they travel to Bloomington to take on the Hoosiers at 7 p.m. The game will be carried live on the Big Ten Network.