WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – An early third-quarter lull proved too much for the Purdue women's basketball team to overcome on Sunday afternoon against Rutgers at Mackey Arena, falling 75-57.
Purdue (6-11, 3-10) connected on nine 3-pointers on the afternoon at a 56.3% clip, while shooting 44.7% from the field overall. Defensively, the Boilermakers flipped 13 turnovers by Rutgers (8-3, 4-3) into 19 points.
Brooke Moore finished with 17 points, including a career-high five 3-pointers. Kayana Traylor dished out five assists to go along with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 2-of-3 from distance. Fatou Diagne jumped back in double figures on 10 points and added a team-high six rebounds.
Early perimeter shooting set the tone for both sides early. Rutgers (7-3, 3-3) jumped out in front going 6-of-12 from the floor in the first period, but the Boilermakers never allowed the gap to grow to more than six. Fatou Diagne stopped a pair of Scarlet Knight runs with hard-fought baskets inside, before Madison Layden and Moore drained a pair of late triples in the first.
In the second, six different Boilermakers found the scoresheet, as Purdue tallied six points in the paint and off turnovers. Purdue shot 44.4% from the field and 60% (6-10) from distance in the first half, but Rutgers held a three-point lead at the break.
A 3:47 span to start the third quarter proved the difference in the game. Purdue committed seven turnovers during the span that turned into 11 points, as Rutgers started the third on a 13-0 run. Far from beaten, the Boilermakers continued to fight back. Traylor scored seven points in a 13-5 swing by Purdue to close the period.
After Rutgers built the lead back out to 13 points in the fourth, Moore, Diagne and Tamara Farquhar strung together seven straight points for the Boilermakers to cut the gap down to six with 4:50 to play. However, down the stretch, Purdue went 0-3 from the field and managed just three points, all at the line, while the Scarlet Knights closed the game making six of their final seven shots.
NOTES
• Rutgers leads the all-time series 8-5, including winning the last five.
• The Boilermakers connected on at least nine 3-pointers for the sixth time this season and the first time since Jan. 18.
• Fatou Diagne scored in double figures for the seventh time this season.
• Moore tied her career-high in triples with five, matching her previous best set against Alabama State in 2018 as an Auburn Tiger.
• Traylor dished out five assists for the seventh time this season and 26 time in her career.
• The junior moved into 20th in program history with 283 assists, passing Carol Emanuel's 278.
• Madison Layden extended her streak of games with a made 3-pointer to 15 with a pair of makes.
• The freshman also kept her perfect streak of recording at least one steal in every game.
• Purdue's 19 points off turnovers were its fourth-highest total this season.
• For just the fourth time this season, the Boilermakers lost the rebounding battle, falling 30-22.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will open a two-game road swing starting at Ohio State on Thursday. Game time and network assignment will be announced later.
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).