Box Score / Notes / Photo Gallery
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team suffered its fourth straight loss Sunday, falling to visiting Michigan 68-61 at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers shot just 25 percent in the second and third quarters (7-28), allowing the Wolverines to build a 13-point lead, and Purdue's fourth-quarter rally fell short as they drop to 16-9 overall and 7-7 in conference play.
Things got off to a great start Sunday as the Boilermakers cashed in seven of their first 12 shots of the game and held an 18-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Senior Torrie Thornton led the charge with six points and three rebounds, finishing great feeds from juniors Ashley Morrissette and Bridget Perry and sophomore Andreona Keys. Purdue assisted on five of its seven first quarter buckets and spread the wealth as five different players found the hoop.
The momentum swung hard in the second quarter as the Wolverines buried 9-of-13 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, while the Boilermakers mustered just three field goals in the frame. Sophomore Katelynn Flaherty did the bulk of the damage for Michigan, hitting a pair of 3's on her way to eight points in the quarter and 11 in the first half, while senior Kelsey Mitchell was 3-of-3 from the floor for seven of her nine points for the game.
The trend continued after the half as the Boilermakers' shooting struggles invaded the free throw line, going 4-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-7 at the charity stripe. Michigan got the ball inside and scored, posting a 12-4 advantage in the paint in the third, including eight points from freshman Hallie Thome. The Boilermakers battled hard on the boards, outrebounding Michigan 15-10 in the period, but couldn't turn their seven offensive rebounds into points, finishing with only two second-chance buckets in the third.
Purdue rallied in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead as close as four points, but the hole proved too deep to climb out of. Michigan hit its first shot of the fourth, extending its lead to 54-41, but the Boilermakers would hold them without a bucket for the ensuing six minutes as they tried to mount a comeback. Purdue matched Michigan's cold streak for a few minutes, missing four straight shots, and two more at the free throw line, but Morrissette and Keys sparked the rally near the 4:30-mark with steals and scores on the fast break as they trimmed the deficit to 56-52 with 3:18 to play. The comeback effort would end there as Michigan senior Madison Ristovski converted a layup off an inbounds play late in the shot clock and the Wolverines would hit their next two shots to run their lead back to 11 with 1:30 left. Morrissette scrapped in the final minute, scoring seven more points as the team fought, but ran out of time in the seven-point defeat.
Morrissette finished with a game-high 19 points, five rebounds and two steals, but was Purdue's only player in double-figures on the day. Four Boilermakers finished with eight points, including Thornton and Keys, and senior Hayden Hamby had a fantastic return to the floor, adding eight points and three rebounds after missing the last 13 games. Freshman Dominique McBryde turned in eight points and a team-high eight rebounds as well, while blocking two shots.
Flaherty led Michigan with 17 points, four assists and three steals, while junior Siera Thompson had 13 points and eight assists. Thome and Ristovski chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively, while Mitchell was just shy of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. The Wolverines have won four of their last five games, improving to 15-10 overall and 7-7 in conference play.
Purdue heads back on the road this week, traveling to play Iowa Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.