WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A late fourth-quarter run was not enough for the Purdue women's basketball team to overcome offensive struggles Sunday afternoon, as the Boilermakers fell to Valparaiso 52-47 at Mackey Arena.
Purdue (1-1) was led offensively by Kayana Traylor's 15 points, along with 10 from Brooke Moore, but the Boilermakers could not find their shooting rhythm with just a 27.3% field goal clip on the afternoon. On the reverse side, Valparaiso (2-1) connected on 37.7% of its shots with seven 3-pointers to Purdue's zero.
The Boilermakers found themselves trailing in the opening stages with nine turnovers over the opening 12 minutes. Purdue bounced back from a seven-point deficit after the first to post a 10-5 run before the break, capped off by a Fatou Diagne buzzer-beating put-back to give the hosts an 18-17 advantage.
Out of halftime, the Crusaders extended connected on a trio of triples in the third and extended the lead to as many as 10 midway through the fourth.
Purdue began its rally with 3:50 to play with a pull-up jumper from Moore. Madison Layden, in her first start as a Boilermaker, forced a turnover that resulted in an Ajah Stallings layup. Following another Valpo turnover, Traylor fought her way through contact to convert an and-1 and put Purdue within three. Moore than cut it down to one with a stepback jumper with 1:28 to play. That was as close as the Boilermakers could get.
The Boilermakers won the rebounding battle and turned 12 offensive rebounds into 10 second-chance points. Tamara Farquhar led the way on the glass with a game-high 14 boards.
NOTES
• Purdue is now 11-2 all-time against Valparaiso.
• Farquhar recorded her 12th career game with double-digit rebounds.
• Purdue struggled passing the ball with just three assists to 18 turnovers.
• The Boilermakers went 0-for-15 beyond the arc.
• Traylor scored in double figures for the second straight game. The junior is averaging a team-high 16.5 points per game.
• Stallings finished with a career-high six points.
• Purdue fell for just the 10th time since 2015-16 when holding an opponent below 60 points.
• Layden and Moore were the lone Boilermakers to finish with a positive plus-minus at six and four, respectively.
• After missing the opener through injury, Cassidy Hardin made her 2020-21 debut for a little over seven minutes of play.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will have a short turnaround to prepare for Buffalo's arrival in West Lafayette on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest on Big Ten Network+
Stay up to date on all the latest scores, stats and stories surrounding Purdue women's basketball this season by following the team on Twitter (@PurdueWBB), Instagram (@PurdueWBB) and Facebook (/PurdueWBB).