WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team gave 11th-ranked Ohio State all it could handle at Mackey Arena on Sunday, but fell to the visiting Buckeyes 61-56.
The Boilermakers led for the majority of the game, holding Ohio State to its lowest single-game scoring total of the season, but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter as the Buckeyes finished the game on an 11-2 run to drop Purdue to 12-7 on the year and 3-2 in Big Ten play.
The Boilermakers came out blazing, holding Ohio State to just three first-quarter field goals and opening up a 20-6 lead after the opening period. Senior Ashley Morrissette did the bulk of the damage for the Old Gold & Black, scoring nine points, while freshman Dominique Oden chipped in five more. Purdue did an excellent job in the quarter of keeping an outstanding Ohio State rebounding team off the glass, limiting them to two offensive boards and zero second chance points.
Ohio State junior Kelsey Mitchell had one of her lowest scoring outputs of the season, but you couldn't tell during the second frame as she tallied 11 points, draining a 3 and 6-of-6 at the charity stripe. Purdue opened its lead up to 16 in the first minute of the quarter, but Morrissette picked up her second foul at the 7:45-mark and fell out of the rhythm of the game, scoring just two points the rest of the way. A 10-2 Ohio State run over the final three minutes of the half made it a two-point game at the break.
Things went back-and-forth in the third as Ohio State took its first lead of the game with a 6-0 run to start the quarter, but the Boilermakers answered behind a strong frame from sophomore Dominique McBryde to take a one-point lead to the fourth, 48-47. McBryde had six points, five boards and a steal in the third, hitting 3-of-4 from the floor and dominating inside.
Things seemed to be headed the same direction in the fourth quarter for the Boilermakers as freshman forward Ae'Rianna Harris scored Purdue's first six points of the period and pushed the lead to 54-50 with 5:25 to play, while holding Ohio State for more than three minutes without a field goal. However, Harris' jumper would prove the last Boilermaker field goal of the game and the Buckeyes were able to inch ahead down the stretch. A triple from Buckeye sophomore Sierra Calhoun gave Ohio State a 57-54 edge with 3:54 to play, and while Oden then cut it back to one, 57-56, with 40 seconds left, Purdue was unable to overcome the hole. Ohio State got a pair of buckets from junior Stephanie Mavunga in the final 26 seconds, and Morrissette's 3-point attempts fell short down the stretch.
McBryde finished with her second double-double of the season, totaling 12 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high three steals, playing her first collegiate complete game. Oden and Harris both scored in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively, while Harris added seven rebounds and four blocks. Junior Andreona Keys stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, seven assists, six rebounds and a steal, while Morrissette finished with 13 points, five assists and a career-most six steals.
Mitchell managed just 14 points for Ohio State on 3-of-17 shooting, marking her second-lowest single-game scoring mark of the season. Mavunga finished with 11 points and 12 boards, while freshman Tori McCoy added 12 points and three blocks as Ohio State improved to 15-5 overall and 5-1 in conference play with the win.
Purdue returns to action Thursday, heading to intrastate rival Indiana for an 8 p.m. ET tip off in Bloomington. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network.