WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak come to an end Thursday night at Mackey Arena, falling 79-66 to Iowa. The Boilermakers held the Hawkeyes without a 3-pointer for the first time since 2018.
The Boilermakers (11-5, 2-3) were led by Abbey Ellis' 18 points, pulling her 13 points away from reaching the 1,000-point plateau for her career. Brooke Moore added 14 off the bench, and Madison Layden finished with 11. Jeanae Terry chipped in eight points to go with five rebounds and eight assists.
Ava Learn provided a late spark for the Boilermakers in the loss. The rookie had a career-high four points, five rebounds and a block in just 10 minutes of action with only a plus-minus of minus-two.
Purdue shot 36.5% for the game and turned 10 offensive rebounds in 13 second-chance points. Iowa (9-4, 3-1) posted a 49.1% clip from the field and recorded 50 points in the paint, led by Monika Czinano's game-high 27. Caitlin Clark, one of the top players in the nation, went for 24 points.
While Purdue held Clark to just 10 points from the field on 5-of-14 shooting and 0-for-6 from behind the arc, the nation's leading scorer did her work at the line, going 14-of-16, the most makes by a Purdue opponent since 2012. Iowa was 27-of-30 on the night from the line.
Purdue fell behind early in the first quarter, making just three of their opening 12 shots in the period. The Hawkeyes took advantage to built up a 16-6 lead, before the Boilermakers responded. Rickie Woltman and Moore scored all the points in a 7-2 run to close the period.
The run continued into the second with Moore and Layden knocking down 3-pointers early in the frame. Terry put Purdue ahead 23-22 with a tough layup inside. Benefitting from trips to the free throw line, Iowa rebuilt the lead out to seven points at the break, 37-30.
Layden led the way in the first half with nine points, as Purdue shot 40% from the field with a trio of 3-pointers. The Hawkeyes shot 54% over the opening 20 minutes and tallied 30 of their points in the paint.
Foul trouble pulled Terry and Layden for the early part of the third quarter, as the Hawkeyes extended the lead to 13 on a 14-5 run to close the period.
Less than two minutes into the fourth, Purdue earned its way into the bonus. The two clubs evenly split 22 fouls over the final 10 minutes with Purdue going 10-of-13 at the line and Iowa making 16-of-17 attempts. Despite the frequent trips to the charity stripe, the Boilermakers never generated a run to whittle the gap down to single digits.
NOTES
• Purdue holds a 41-35 series lead against Iowa, but the Hawkeyes have won the last five meetings.
• The Boilermakers are now 2-3 this year when failing to make at least seven 3-pointers.
• Purdue's 13 second-chance points were the most since Nov. 27 against West Virginia.
• Terry picked up her ninth game this season with five or more assists, which is tied for fourth in the Big Ten.
• Purdue matched its season high with 26 committed fouls from the season opener at Western Kentucky.
• In six games against Purdue, Iowa's Monika Czinano has averaged 16.5 points per game, including 28.3 over the last three.
• Madison Layden fouled out for the first time in her career.
• Purdue's bench outscored an opponent for the ninth time this year.
• The 50 points allowed in the paint were the most since Feb. 25 last season against Maryland (54).
UP NEXT
The Barn Burner Trophy Game is up next for the Boilermakers. Purdue will host No. 6/5 Indiana at Mackey Arena for a 2 p.m. tip in front of a national audience on FS1. Tickets are still available for Sunday's blackout by visiting PurdueSports.com/tickets.