WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Boosted by a trio of players in double figures, the Purdue women's basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season and opened the home campaign at Mackey Arena with a 70-62 win Sunday afternoon.
Sophomores Madison Ladyen and Ra Shaya Kyle combined for 39 points with both hitting career highs. Layden went for a career-high 20 points with four 3-pointers, while Kyle added 19 points with 11 in the second half. Cassidy Hardin fell one point shy of her career high to finish with 14 points.
Purdue (2-0) finished with a 45.3% clip from the field and went 9-of-25 from behind the arc. Purdue recorded an assist on 24 of 29. Transfer Abbey Ellis set a new career high with 11 dimes to go with seven points. Six different Boilermakers dished out multiple assists in the win.
Purdue blitzed the Broncos to start, jumping out to an 11-0 run. Purdue hit seven of its opening nine shots, including five triples between Layden and Kyle to open a 19-7 advantage midway through the first.
The Boilermakers rattled off eight first half 3-pointers and shot 53% in the opening 20 minutes to take a 42-27 lead into the break.
Ra Shaya Kyle nearly singlehandedly set the tone early in the second half with eight straight points in the opening 90 seconds of the third, including two baskets of Ellis steals. The Boilermakers forced 18 WMU turnovers and turned them into 15 points. Ellis tallied a game-high five steals, while Brooke Moore swiped a pair in seven minutes of action.
Western Michigan cut into a 20-point lead late in the third quarter with 11 straight points. Jeanae Terry halted the momentum with baskets on back-to-back trips down the floor and open the gap back up to a comfortable margin.
SOPHOMORE SWAGGER
Layden and Kyle led the way with their career days. Layden was 8-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-9 from distance. Kyle was an efficient 9-of-13 shooting. Both players finished with a team-high eight rebounds each, while both had a steal and a block.
With her 3-pointer 17 seconds into the game, Layden passed Katie Gearlds for the second longest 3-point streak in program history. The sophomore has made a triple in her last 23 games and trails only Ashley Morrissette for the program record of 25.
GOING LONG
For the second straight game, Purdue connected on nine 3-pointers. Layden and Hardin evenly split eight triples, while Ellis added the ninth. The Boilermakers started the game hitting 5-of-6 3-point attempts. Purdue has its most triples through two games with 18 in the last 17 years.
NOTES
• Purdue owns a 7-0 lead in its series with Western Michigan.
• The Boilermakers improved to 44-3 all-time in home openers.
• Purdue worked the ball inside to score 38 points in the paint.
• The Boilermakers were outrebounded by three, 35-32.
• The starting lineup accounted for 65 of the 70 points.
• Purdue trimmed its turnovers down to 14 on the day.
• After going 22-of-28 at the line against Western Kentucky, Purdue only managed four free throw attempts Sunday.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will hit the road Wednesday for a 7 p.m. (ET) tilt at Illinois State. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.