MADISON, Wis. - The Purdue women's basketball team suffered a 64-57 loss at the hands of Wisconsin on the road Monday night, falling to 16-7 overall and 7-5 in conference play. The Boilermakers were outrebounded by 11, 39-28, while the Badgers scored 20 points off of 16 Purdue turnovers to earn just their third Big Ten victory.
After a first half that was played nearly even for the first 20 minutes, Wisconsin got a banked 3-point buzzer-beater from freshman Roichelle Marble to take a three-point edge to the half, 33-30. Through the entire second half the Boilermakers would cut the lead down to two or three points, only to see the Badgers respond each time and protect their lead over the final 20 minutes.
The Boilermakers used the free throw line and steal and score from senior April Wilson to junior Bridget Perry to slice the lead to two, 52-50, with 5:51 to play, but then traded baskets for the next few possessions with scores from Wisconsin seniors Michala Johnson and Nicole Bauman. Perry trimmed the lead to one with 3:03 left as Wilson grabbed a long rebound and tossed it ahead for the foul and finish, but again the Badgers responded and Purdue would never get as close.
Perry finished with a double-double, posting 12 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Dominique McBryde led the Boilermakers in scoring with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting. McBryde had her way inside, but was limited to just 18 minutes due to foul trouble.
Johnson led Wisconsin with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Bauman added 16 and fellow senior Dakota Whyte had 14 points and five assists. Wisconsin improved to 7-15 overall and 3-9 in conference play.
Purdue stays on the road this week, heading to fifth-ranked Maryland on Thursday.