Feb. 13, 2011
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| Box Score 
| Game Notes
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue Boilermakers faced a tough first half against the visiting Fighting Illini, but dominated the second half to cruise to a 92-63 victory. Purdue's win handed Illinois its ninth-straight loss in the only match up between the two teams in the regular season.
Alex Guyton got the Boilermakers off to a strong start with two consecutive baskets, putting Purdue up 4-0. Over the first four minutes, Purdue would build the lead to 12-5, but by the 8:53 mark of the first half, Illinois had battled back to close the gap to four points. With 7:11 remaining in the first period, the two teams were tied. Over the next six minutes, there would be 10 lead changes and three ties. With just over a minute to play, Purdue held a two-point advantage, but the Boilermakers closed out the half on a 9-1 run to take a 10 point lead into the locker room. Drey Mingo started the run by hitting a three-pointer at 1:09 to give Purdue a five-point edge. Illinois' Macie Blinn hit one of two free throws before an old-fashioned three-point play by Mingo gave Purdue a seven-point lead. On Purdue's final possession of the half, with seconds remaining, a three-point shot by Brittany Rayburn gave Purdue a 10-point cushion, 51-41.
Antionette Howard was the scoring leader in the first half with 14 points. The Boilermakers also put two other players in double-digit scoring in the first 20 minutes of play as Mingo had 11 and Rayburn with 10. The Boilermakers also shot an astounding 66.7 percent in the first half, connecting on 20 of 30 field goals.
In the first two minutes of the second half, the Illini brought the score back to only a six point deficit. But with 16 minutes minutes to go, Mingo hit another trey to give Purdue an 11-point lead. The Boilermakers would not waver the rest of the game, never allowing Illinois to get closer, finishing just one point shy of its largest lead of the game with a 29-point win. Purdue continued to shoot lights out and stepped up its defensive intensity, limiting Illinois to only 22 points in the second half on 6 of 27 from the field.
For the game, Purdue shot a season-high 61 percent (35 of 67) from the field, hitting a season-best 35 shots, including 24 of 29 in the paint. The Boilermakers had five players in double digits: Mingo with a career-high 23 points, Howard with a career-high 21 points, Rayburn with 13, Guyton with 10 and Courtney Moses with 10. Mingo made 8 of 10 field goals, including all four of her career-high four three-pointers. Howard shot 70 percent from the field while three Purdue players were perfect from the field on the night.
The Boilermakers also capitalized on 25 Illinois turnovers, converting those into 21 points. Purdue's defense kept Illinois scoreless for the last 8:18 of the game.
Amber Moore led Illinois with 14, followed by Karisma Penn with 12, Lana Rukavina with 11 and Centrese McGee with 10. Coming into the game, Penn had recorded a conference-best 15 double-doubles. Purdue was able to hold her to only six rebounds to go along with her 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Purdue returns to the road to face Minnesota in one of its three remaining regular season games. They will take on the Gophers at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 17, in Williams Arena in Minneapolis.