WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team dropped its Big Ten Conference opener Sunday to No. 18/20 Ohio State, 70-53. The Boilermakers held the national leader in scoring offense to nearly 20 points below its average.
The Boilermakers (6-3, 0-1) struggled to find its rhythm on the offensive end with a 29.6% field goal clip. Purdue was 6-of-36 from behind the arc. Purdue took 21 more shots than Ohio State (6-1, 1-0), but the Buckeyes finished with four more made field goals and shot an even 50% from the field.
Madison Layden paced the Boilermakers with 13 points and a trio of 3-pointers. Abbey Ellis jumped back into double figures with an 11-point outing. In addition to Layden and Ellis both making five shots, only Ra Shaya Kyle and Jeanae Terry made more than one field goal.
Purdue's defense forced 22 Ohio State turnovers on the night but only converted them into 14 points, compared to 18 points on 16 Boilermaker giveaways. Jeanae Terry notched a season-high 13 rebounds, including four on the offensive end, as Purdue hauled down 13 offensive boards.
The Boilermakers got good looks in the first half but struggled to convert, shooting just 26%. Purdue knocked down just a trio of triples on 17 first half attempts. Despite the cool shooting, Purdue kept the turnovers to just eight in the opening 20 minutes and forced 14 Ohio State giveaways.
Ellis, Layden and Cassidy Hardin each sunk a 3-pointer over the opening 20 minutes, as the Boilermakers took 14 more shots. Defensively, Purdue limited the Buckeyes to their lowest first-half score of the season at 24, including a season-low seven points in the second quarter. Purdue trailed by two at the break.
A slow start to the third saw Ohio State build up a 10-point advantage. Purdue closed the third on a 7-2 run with a buzzer beater by Kyle to pull the Boilermakers within five going into the fourth. The Buckeyes took advantage of just four Purdue points in the first six minutes of the final frame to grow the gap to 17.
Purdue's press came to life late in the fourth to give Purdue nine straight points and trim Ohio State's lead to eight. The Buckeyes finished the game on a 9-0 run, as Purdue missed its final nine shots in an attempt to mount a comeback.
QUOTE
Head coach Katie Gearlds …
I think the biggest thing for us is competing all 40 minutes. I think we had an opportunity to cut it down the stretch. That's the biggest thing you want to take away from our team is that we'll compete for 40 minutes. We took 21 more shots than they did. We guarded our tails off. In the second half, our frustration showed. We tell them that no matter what we do on the offensive end, we have to lock in defensively.
NOTES
• The Boilermakers are now 31-49 all-time against the Buckeyes.
• Purdue's 36 3-point attempts surpassed the school record of 33 set against Florida State earlier this season.
• The Boilermakers snagged 10 or more offensive rebounds for the fourth time this season.
• Purdue finished with fewer than seven 3-pointers for the third time this year.
• Purdue's nine assists were a season low, with eight coming from Ellis, Terry and Layden.
• Kyle, Terry, Layden and Ellis went a combined 16-of-42 from the field (38.1%), while the rest of the roster was 5-for-29 (17.2%)
• Terry hit double figures in rebounding for the eighth time in her career and first as a Boilermaker.
• The Boilermakers were outscored 25-13 in the fourth quarter.
• With her lone triple on the afternoon, Hardin reached the century mark for career 3-pointers.
• Layden set a new career high with a pair of blocks.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will hit the road for the first time in the Big Ten this season with a trip to No. 8 Maryland on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.