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LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Purdue women's basketball team wrapped up its season Friday afternoon, falling to sixth-seeded Oklahoma 61-45 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, hosted by the University of Kentucky at Memorial Coliseum. The Boilermaker offense struggled to get anything going against the Sooners, suffering their worst shooting performance of the season at 28.1 percent from the field (18-64).
The Boilermakers traded punches early with the Sooners, battling to a 6-6 tie after the opening five minutes. Purdue struggled from the field but did well on the offensive glass and forced Oklahoma into a handful of early turnovers. However the shooting woes proved too much to overcome through the rest of the quarter as Oklahoma started knocking down some shots and stretched out a 17-10 edge after one.
Things really game unglued for the Old Gold and Black in the second quarter as they hit their opening shot, a jumper from junior Bridget Perry to make it 17-12, but would miss their next 14 straight and turn the ball over four times as the Sooners built a 16-point lead from which they'd never look back. The Boilermakers' five second-quarter points were their fewest in any period this season as they converted just 2-of-16 during the frame.
The Boilermakers finally got their offense going in the third quarter, sparked by freshman Tiara Murphy who canned a pair of triples off the bench. Purdue hit 8-of-14, including three 3's, but unfortunately the Sooners matched them at every turn and hit 6-of-8 at the charity stripe to outscore the Boilermakers in the third, 25-19, and extend their lead to 19, 53-34. Purdue kept the fight coming in the fourth quarter, but the hole was too deep as Oklahoma emptied its bench and held on for the win, despite scoring only eight points in the final 10 minutes and none in the final 5:42.
Senior April Wilson led the Boilermakers with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in her final collegiate game, capping an outstanding career at Purdue. The Old Gold and Black failed to have a scorer in double-figures for just the second time this season, as junior Ashley Morrissette was the only other Boilermaker close with eight. Freshman Dominique McBryde grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and Perry had a pair of blocks.
Junior Peyton Little paced Oklahoma with 20 points and five rebounds, while classmate Maddie Manning had 12 points, seven boards and three blocks and sophomore Vionise Pierre-Louis turned in seven points, eight rebounds and seven blocks. The Sooners advance to play the winner of No. 3 seed Kentucky and No. 14 UNC-Ashville on Monday.
The Boilermakers' nine-win turnaround season was the second-largest swing in school history, as they advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 25th time in school history and eighth time under head coach Sharon Versyp.
A tough loss, but be sure to watch the postgame presser w/ @CoachVersyp @aye_iseeme25 & @ba_perry31 #BoilerUp https://t.co/YM486Pgvs1
-- Purdue Women's Bball (@PurdueWBB) March 19, 2016