ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the third time this season, the Purdue women's basketball team tested a top-10 opponent deep into the fourth quarter, but the Boilermakers fell on the road Monday night to No. 8 Michigan, 79-66.
After shooting just 31.4% from the field in the first half, Purdue (12-7, 3-5) bounced back to hit 46.7% of its shots in the second half, finishing with a 38.5% clip. The Boilermakers chipped the gap down to seven points early in the fourth quarter, before the Wolverines (17-2, 8-1) pulled away late.
Brooke Moore paced the Boilermakers with 16 points, while Madison Layden notched her 12th straight game in double figures with 13 points. Rickie Woltman was the third Boilermaker in double figures with 11 points.
The Boilermakers knocked down eight triples on the night, topped by a trio from Layden.
Michigan finished with a pair of players with double-doubles, led by reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Naz Hillmon with 32 points and 12 rebounds.
Purdue held with Michigan in the opening frame. While Hillmon accounted for 15 of the Wolverine's 19 points in the opening period, Layden tallied seven for the Boilermakers. Purdue had several good looks to start from the outside, making a pair on six attempts, as it trailed by three after the first.
Michigan quickly jumped its lead out to 11 points early in the second quarter, but 12 combined points from Abbey Ellis and Moore kept Purdue within striking distance. Defensively, the Boilermakers held the Wolverines without a triple in the second to only trail 38-31 at the break.
Sparked by a Cassidy Hardin triple to open the third, the Boilermakers made four of their first five shots of the half to trim the gap to two. After the game stayed within two-possessions for most of the third, Michigan went on a 11-2 run to extend the gap to 12, before Ava Learn finished the period with a traditional 3-point play.
The fourth quarter saw Purdue fall on the wrong side of a 9-0 run, as the deficit went to 17 points. Layden and Hardin knocked down back-to-back triples with under three minutes to play, but the Boilermakers could not cut the gap down into single digits.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Michigan 53-23.
• Brooke Moore hit double figures for the fifth straight game. The senior is averaging 16.4 points per game during the stretch.
• Cassidy Hardin extended her 3-point streak to 20 games in a row, the fourth longest mark in program history.
• The Boilermakers are 10-3 this season when making at least seven 3-pointers.
• Purdue surrendered a season-high 54 points in the paint, while 26 of its points in the lane.
• Michigan won the rebounding battle 44-31 and turned 14 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points.
• Jeanae Terry tallied her seventh game with at least five points, five rebounds and five assists this year.
• Terry now has 100 assists on the year, 21 away from cracking the top-10 for helpers in a season by a junior.
• Layden finished with a game-high three steals for her 12th career game with three or more takeaways.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will have a short turnaround before welcoming Minnesota to Mackey Arena on Thursday night for a 7 p.m. tip on B1G+.