WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – With head coach Katie Gearlds on the sideline for the first time at Mackey Arena, the Purdue women's basketball team cruised to a 89-64 exhibition win over Findlay on Sunday afternoon. The Boilermakers connected on 12 3-pointers in the win.
Madison Layden paced Purdue with 22 points, while Cassidy Hardin added 18 points on six triples. Illinois transfer Jeanae Terry tallied a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
The Boilermakers jumped out of the gate with a 14-4 run, with 12 combined points from Layden and Abbey Ellis over the initial spurt. Shooting 46.2% from the field over the opening 20 minutes, including a 50% clip in the second quarter, Purdue extended its lead to as many as 22.
Purdue's defense was all over the Oilers, forcing 25 turnovers on the afternoon and scoring 20 points off the takeaways. The Boilermakers picked up 11 steals with Layden and Mide Oriyomi leading the way with three.
The Boilermakers also dominated on the glass with a 45-29 advantage and scored 18 points off 20 offensive rebounds. Terry finished with a team-high 10, followed by nine from Layden. Eleven different Boilermakers snagged a rebound.
Findlay stayed close throughout the third quarter, before Purdue poured in 25 points in the final frame, kickstarted by a 15-2 run top open the fourth.
A key focus for the Boilermakers since Gearlds' ascension has been an offense with a quicker tempo. Purdue finished with 18 points on the break.
THE OUTSIDE TOUCH
Purdue fired off 36 3-point attempts, which if statistics were official, would be a new program record. Hardin paced the outside shooters with six makes, followed by Layden with two. Ellis, Oriyomi and Jayla Smith all added one. The Boilermakers have made 12 or more 3-pointers in a game just five times since the 2009-10 season.
NEW FACES, NEW IMPACT
Five of the six newcomers played Sunday. Ellis, a transfer from Cal Poly tallied seven points in 25 minutes with five assists. Terry had the aforementioned double-double and Oriyomi finished with seven points and three rebounds. 2021 Indiana miss Basketball Jayla Smith tacked on seven points with two steals and three boards in the win. Ava Learn scored late to finish with two points and an assist.
QUOTE
Head coach Katie Gearlds …
It was good to play against someone else in front of fans. Going back to fan day, I thought we were really nervous. We had only been together for two weeks at that point with me as a head coach. I thought we were a little on edge this morning. We want to push tempo. We want to shoot it before we turn it over. We passed up some open shots. The jitters had a bit early, until Madison hit an open shot.
We need to do a better job of guarding the basketball and keeping people out of the paint. It'll get better. My scheme is a little bit different. I like the fact that we scored 89 points. We won three quarters. We need to do a better job in that third quarter, but I'll take that for our first time out.
NOTES
• Purdue won its 42nd straight exhibition contest.
• The Boilermakers are now 2-0 against Findlay in exhibitions.
• Gearlds made her first appearance on Purdue's sidelines since Feb. 22, 2007.
• Layden's 22 points and Hardin's 18 points would have been career highs.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will officially open the Katie Gearlds era on Wednesday at Western Kentucky on 7:30 p.m. (ET). Catch Tim Newton on the Purdue Sports Network on 95.3 BOB FM.