UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A fourth quarter surge propelled the Purdue women's basketball team to a 91-87 win on the road at Penn State on Sunday afternoon. Trailing by five in the final frame, the Boilermakers outscored the Lady Lions 24-16 over the final 8:37 to pick up the win in their first road game of the season.
Per usual, Kayana Traylor turned it up when the Boilermakers (4-2, 1-1) needed her most. The junior showed out with a career-high 28 points to go along with five assists, three steals and four rebounds. Brooke Moore just missed out on her third 20-point game of the year, finishing with 19 points and a game-high six assists. For the second straight game, Fatou Diagne went for 13 points and nine rebounds.
Purdue shot a season-high 56.4% from the field and connected on 9-of-15 from deep. The Boilermakers topped 90 points for the first time since Jan. 17, 2016, at Ohio State.
Purdue opened the game strong offensively, connecting on 9 of its first 12 shots of the game. Traylor crossed the double figures in the fist quarter with 11 in the frame. Ajah Stallings knocked down her first career 3-pointer 5:24 to play in the second to open an 11-point lead, before the hosts trimmed the gap down to seven at the break. Purdue shot 60% in the opening 20 minutes with four 3-pointers and assists on 11 of 18 made field goals.
Penn State (3-2, 0-1) battled back in the second half, forcing eight Purdue turnovers in the third quarter. The hosts eventually took a 72-67 lead in the final period. The lead was short-lived.
Traylor and Diagne teamed up for a 10-1 run, capped by a mid-range jumper from Moore. Cassidy Hardin drilled the last of her three triples with 3:13 to play to make it a seven-point game. The Boilermakers countered every late push by the Lady Lions, as the visitors made nine of their 10 free throw attempts in final two minutes to seal the win.
CLUTCH KT
Traylor's 28 points marked the most by a Boilermaker since Dominque Oden's 28 against Penn State last season. The Martinsville, Ind., native went 9-for-16 from the field, including a pair of triples, and matched her career-high with nine made free throws. Traylor stepped up late with 11 points in the fourth quarter, going 6-of-8 at the line, including four straight makes on back-to-back trips with less than a minute to play.
DISHING OUT THE DIMES
Purdue tallied 19 assists on 31 made field goals. Moore and Traylor recorded their second and third games with at least five assists, respectively. Madison Layden matched her career high with four dimes, while Jenelle Grant added a season-best two helpers.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series 33-21, with a 11-12 mark in State College, and 16-7 in the Versyp era.
• The Boilermakers set a season high with 46 points over the opening two quarters.
• Karissa McLaughlin made her 2020-21 debut coming off injury. The two-time All-Big Ten honoree played a little over five minutes, as she continues to work her way back into the flow of the game.
• Cassidy Hardin found her touch from the outside, going 3-for-3 in the win.
• The Boilermakers are 17-5 when Traylor dishes out at least five assists.
• For the sixth time this season, Purdue won the rebounding battle (34-31).
• The Boilermakers recorded their second game of the year and ninth since 2016-17 with at least 20 made free throws (20-26).
• While Purdue allowed 56 points in the paint, the Boilermakers held the Lady Lions to just four 3-pointers, well below their season average of 7.3.
• Head coach Sharon Versyp is now two wins away from joining the Purdue 300-wins club.
• The win Sunday snapped a four-game skid for the Boilermakers in the Big Ten.
• Purdue's junior class accounted for 59 points on the afternoon.
• Purdue has scored 90 points 12 times during the Versyp era.
UP NEXT
Purdue will close out the 2020 portion of its schedule Wednesday afternoon with a 2 p.m. tip against Nebraska on the Big Ten Network.
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