ICYMI: @PurdueWBB comes away with a 74-68 overtime win over Rutgers. https://t.co/3wazkIEWUp
- Purdue On BTN (@PurdueOnBTN) February 26, 2016
Box Score / Notes / Photo Gallery
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team picked up a huge NCAA Tournament resume-building win Thursday night at Mackey Arena, needing overtime to get past Rutgers 74-68. Freshman Dominique McBryde had a career night for the Old Gold and Black, posting 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting, five rebounds and five blocked shots as the Boilermakers improved to 18-10 overall and 9-8 in conference play.
McBryde was outstanding from start-to-finish Thursday, hitting her first five shots of the game to race out to double-figures in the first half, and scoring seven of Purdue's 13 points in overtime to help seal the victory. The Boilermaker freshman also denied five shots for the second time this season, pushing her season total to a team-high 31 rejections on the year, good for sixth-most by a Purdue rookie all-time. She had all three of the Boilermakers' overtime field goals, capping her scoring effort with a tremendous and-one finish to put Purdue ahead by four, 70-66, and foul Rutgers' leading scorer Kahleah Copper out of the game with 46 seconds left.
Senior April Wilson and junior Ashley Morrissette had monster nights as well as Wilson turned in 15 points, nine assists, three rebounds and three steals, while Morrissette cashed in 17 points and six assists, hitting 8-of-17 from the floor. Wilson did all her scoring through others in the first half, dealing seven assists against just one turnover before the break. The second half and overtime she did it herself, scoring all 15 of her tallies in the final 25 minutes, including a clutch triple to put the Boilermakers up six, 55-49, with 5:10 to play, and a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe in overtime. Her signature moment came with 1:24 left in overtime as she helped down on the weakside defensively, stole the ball and was fouled, hitting both shots to give Purdue it's final lead of the game.
Morrissette came out red-hot for the second straight game, scoring eight points in the first quarter and three more in the second to head to the locker room with 11 points and a trio of assists. She was scoreless in the third quarter, missing a pair of shots, but came up big in the fourth, scoring a trio of buckets down the stretch in the win. She also assisted on two of McBryde's three buckets in the extra period, including the and-one finish that sealed the win.
Sophomores Bree Horrocks and Andreona Keys gave the Boilermakers a boost as well as Horrocks came off the bench to post 10 points and five rebounds, while Keys stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The Boilermakers shot a solid 48.3 percent from the floor Thursday (29-60), and hit 14-of-19 at the free throw line, including nine straight to finish the game. Purdue's 13 turnovers were its fewest over its last eight games, while the Old Gold and Black assisted on 21-of-29 field goals on the evening. Despite being outrebounded 45-31, the largest margin for an opponent this season, and giving up 23 second-chance points to the Scarlet Knights, Purdue only trailed 38-32 on points in the paint.
Purdue took a 29-20 lead into halftime, holding Rutgers to eight points in the first quarter and 12 points in the second quarter. The Scarlet Knights erupted in the third quarter for 25 points, hitting 52.4 percent (11-21) and outrebounding Purdue 16-4 to take a 45-42 lead into the fourth. The lead climbed to five 47-42 as Rutgers hit the first shot of the fourth quarter, but the Boilermakers came roaring back, going on a 13-2 run to build a 55-49 lead with 5:10 to play.
The Scarlet Knights would not go quietly, trading buckets with the Boilermakers down the stretch before a Copper 3-pointer, Rutgers' only trifecta of the game, cut the lead to one, 59-58, with 23 seconds left in regulation. Junior Bridget Perry dropped in a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three, but Rutgers senior Rachel Hollivay finished an and-one off of an offensive rebound and made the free throw to force the extra session.
Rutgers appeared to have the game in hand, building a three-point lead in the first two minutes of overtime, but McBryde took over the game, seven of the next nine points in a 9-0 Purdue run to put the Boilermakers on top for good. Rutgers was led by junior Tyler Scaife with 23 points and six rebounds, while Copper turned in 22 points, seven rebounds and four steals and Hollivay offered up 15 points and nine boards. The Scarlet Knights fall to 16-13 overall and 7-10 in Big Ten play with the loss.
Purdue wraps up the regular season Sunday at Mackey Arena, hosting Wisconsin at 2 p.m. ET. All tickets are just $5, and the Boilermakers will host a pregame carnival in Cardinal Court, featuring inflatables, face painting, prize giveaways and more, starting at 1 p.m. ET.