INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The fifth-seeded Purdue women's basketball team's run at a 10th Big Ten Tournament title fell short Sunday as they fell to fourth-ranked and second-seeded Maryland at Bankers Life Arena, 74-64. Purdue senior Ashley Morrissette and freshman Dominique Oden were named to the all-tournament team in the loss as Purdue moved to 22-12 on the year and now awaits work of a possible at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
The Boilermakers came out swinging against the Terrapins, trading runs through the entire first half as the score swung back-and-forth. Maryland took the first shot, going on a 7-1 run to take a 12-7 lead after five minutes, but the Boilermakers came right back with a 7-0 spurt behind three straight outstanding plays from Morrissette to take a 14-12 edge. She drained a triple, then dished consecutive assists to sophomore Dominique McBryde and senior Bridget Perry.
Maryland hit back-to-back 3's to spur a 9-0 run and stretched the lead back out to 21-14, but back came the Boilermakers going on a 10-3 stretch to even the count at 24-24 with 6:49 left in the half. The Terrapins took the lead back to 10 points, and appeared they were headed into the locker room with a double-digit lead, but junior Andreona Keys and Oden dialed up consecutive 3's of their own to make it 39-35 at the break.
Unfortunately after the half, Maryland's offense picked up where it left off, while the Boilermakers struggled to make buckets. Purdue managed 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while the Terrapins hit 8-of-12 and ran out to a 57-45 edge. The lead grew as high as 21 points in the fourth quarter behind another extensive Maryland run, but the Boilermakers never quit, trimming things back to 11, 70-59, with four minutes left to play. With four straight opportunities to take the lead to single-digits Purdue came up empty and Maryland was able to drain the clock.
Morrissette finished with a team-high 18 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals, while Keys added 15 points and six rebounds. Oden hit a pair of 3's and finished with nine points, extending her Purdue freshman 3-point record to 57, while Perry hit the 1,000-career point plateau, with seven points, six rebounds and two steals. Perry is the 31st player in program history to score 1,000 points, and along with Morrissette becomes the 10th class at Purdue with multiple 1,000-point scorers.
Maryland moves to 30-2 with the victory, winning its third straight Big Ten Tournament championship. Senior Brionna Jones was named the tournament's most outstanding player after posting 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in the title game, and was joined on the all-tournament team by classmate Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and freshman Destiny Slocum.
The NCAA Tournament committee will announce the 2017 field on Monday, March 13, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.