WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team capped off its non-conference slate with an 86-53 win over North Alabama on Tuesday at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers hit the holiday break with a 9-4 record and a 9-2 mark in non-conference play, the best clip since 2015-16.
Welcoming students from 12 local schools for Education Day, Purdue played in front of its largest crowd of the season at Mackey Arena – 5,474 fans.
Rickie Woltman secured her first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs. Brooke Moore dropped 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with a trio of 3-pointers.
The Boilermakers dominated on the glass with a plus-19 margin, 47-38. Rokia Doumbia hauled down seven rebounds and Madison Layden added six. Purdue snagged 13 offensive rebounds and converted them into 12 second-chance points.
Off her triple-double performance against Miami, Jeanae Terry dished out a team-high six assists, while Cassidy Hardin matched her career high with five helpers. Purdue recorded season-best 26 assists on 37 made field goals.
The Boilermakers built up a double-digit lead in the early minutes, making seven of their first 10 shots. Hardin and Woltman paced Purdue in the first quarter with six points each.
North Alabama battled back in the second quarter to tie the game at 25-25 with 3:41 to play in the half. Sparked by a Mide Oriyomi layup, Purdue did not give up a field goal for the remainder of the quarter and rolled off a 12-1 run to take a 37-26 lead at the break.
Despite the shooting an even 50% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, Purdue's lead was never more than 12. That quickly changed in the second half.
The Boilermakers outscored the Lions 49-27 over the final 20 minutes.
After North Alabama pulled within eight early in the third, Moore took over. The senior scored 12 straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, over a 3:52 span, as a part of a 20-4 run that grew the lead out to 24 points.
The Boilermakers added to the lead with a 7-0 run early in the final frame. Nyagoa Gony scored five of her seven points in the fourth to set a new career high, while freshman Ava Learn scored for the first time as a Boilermaker.
Purdue never shot below 50% in a quarter, finishing the game with a 55.2% clip and eight 3-pointers.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Woltman was efficient on the day going 7-of-11 from the field and grabbing a trio of offensive rebounds. She added an assist, a steal and a block over 26 minutes of action. Since joining the starting lineup four games ago, Woltman has averaged 8.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and a plus-minus of 14.5. It was the third double-double by a Boilermaker this season.
After playing just 31 games and averaging around one point per game in her first two seasons at Purdue, Woltman has emerged as an impact player for the Boilermakers, setting multiple career highs in blocks, points, minutes and rebounds this season.
QUOTE
Head coach Katie Gearlds on Woltman…
I love that kid. She just needed an opportunity. She needed someone to really believe in her. She's turning into something for us. When Shay went out, we talked with Rickie and told her that we saw potential. We've got a little more flow offensively when she's in. I'm so proud of who she is on and off the court. She's turning into a leader and becoming more vocal.
Head coach Katie Gearlds on the non-conference outcome…
The best thing is that we said in the locker room that we should have more than nine wins. We've been in a position in a couple of games that we should have more than nine. That's what makes being around this team so much fun. They work so hard. They know they're putting in the right work to put us in a position to win.
NOTES
• Purdue now leads the all-time series with North Alabama 2-0.
• The Boilermakers won by 33 points for the second time this season, matching the 101-68 win over Denver.
• Head coach Katie Gearlds put all 12 active players in the game on Tuesday with 10 finding the scoresheet.
• Tuesday was Purdue's 10th game with at least seven 3-pointers.
• Purdue tallied a season-high 52 points in the paint.
• Nine of the 12 who played Tuesday recorded an assist.
• It was Purdue's fourth coast-to-coast win of the year and the first since Marshall.
• The Boilermakers now have 896 wins in program history, just four away from joining the 900-win club.
• With a non-conference mark of 9-2 (81.8%) Gearlds owns the second best non-league mark by a coach in her first year at Purdue. Marsha Reall owns the best clip at 8-1 (88.9%) from the 1986-87 season.
UP NEXT
Purdue will be off until Dec. 30 for a 9 p.m. (ET) road trip to Wisconsin on Big Ten Network.