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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team took advantage of a monumental occasion Sunday afternoon, welcoming home Purdue Athletics Hall of Famer Katie Douglas, earning head coach Sharon Versyp her 207th win as the Boilermaker head coach and regaining control of the Barn Burner Trophy with a 63-53 victory over visiting archrival Indiana at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers won their eighth straight, improving to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in Big Ten Conference play, while staying tied for the conference lead with Ohio State.
With the win Versyp becomes the winningest head coach in program history, surpassing Lin Dunn who has held the record since 1996. The Boilermakers honored Versyp with a postgame celebration after the win with words from athletics director Morgan Burke, senior associate athletics director Nancy Cross, associate head coach Nadine Morgan and more.
The Boilermakers set the tone with their defense early Sunday, holding Indiana without a bucket for almost the first four minutes, and using an 8-0 run to build a 22-12 edge after the first quarter. Juniors Bridget Perry and Ashley Morrissette did the bulk of the work as Perry had eight points, while Morrissette assisted on 5-of-9 first quarter field goals.
The defense picked up the pressure in the second, holding IU to 1-of-10 shooting and forcing five Hoosier turnovers in the quarter. The Boilermakers blocked seven shots in the first half, including two each from sophomore Andreona Keys and freshman Dominique McBryde. After setting up others in the first quarter, Morrissette took the scoring on herself in the second with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Purdue opened the second half the way they started the first, responding from a quick IU bucket to put together a 7-0 run and stretch its lead to 42-22 with 5:19 left in the quarter. However an Indiana timeout turned the tide for the Hoosiers as Purdue's well ran dry and IU closed the quarter on a 13-3 run to close to within 10, 45-35, going into the final session. Indiana got seven points in the third from junior Alexis Gassion and four from junior Jenn Anderson.
Following the play of recent games the fourth quarter proved entertain for the Boilermaker faithful as both sides scored 18 points and play got up-and-down the floor. Purdue pushed its way out to a 15 point lead behind the play of senior April Wilson, but Indiana junior Amanda Cahill led a charge to trim it back to 10 with two minutes to play. The Boilermakers responded to every Indiana made bucket down the stretch and wrapped up its fourth conference win to start 4-0 for the seventh time in school history and the first time since 2012-13.
Morrissette flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while committing no turnovers for the game. Keys secured her first career double-double, piling up 10 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high three blocks, while Perry led the Boilermakers in scoring for the second straight game with 15. Wilson was the fourth Boilermaker in double figures, turning in 14 points, four rebounds and three steals. McBryde and fellow freshman Nora Kiesler combined for nine points and 11 rebounds as McBryde offered seven points and four boards, while Kiesler grabbed seven rebounds in just 14 minutes on the floor.
Cahill paced IU with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Gassion finished with 12 points and sophomore Tyra Buss was held to 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting. Indiana drops to 9-7 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten play with the loss.
Purdue aims to continue its win streak Thursday against visiting Minnesota, hosting the Golden Gophers in Mackey Arena at 7 p.m.