LINCOLN, Neb. - First-half shooting difficulties gave Purdue Women's Basketball a hill to climb that even a renewed shooting touch in the second half could not overcome. First-year head coach Katie Gearlds saw her crew (13-8, 4-6 B1G) start to connect in the third quarter and onward into the fourth, but it was not enough in an 81-66 setback to Nebraska (15-4, 4-4 B1G) at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday.
The Old Gold & Black were strong in the second half, hitting on 46.9-percent of their shot attempts from the field (15-of-32) and a nearly-as-successful 43.8-percent mark from three-point territory (7-of-16).
Strong throughout the game was freshman guard Jayla Smith (Indianapolis, Ind.), who scored a season-best 16 points (6-of-8 FG, 4-of-4 3PT). The newcomer also snagged two rebounds and dished out two assists. Senior guard Brooke Moore (Atlanta, Ga.) followed Smith up with 12 points (5-of-14 FG, 2-of-6 3PT).
The Cornhuskers grew their lead to as many as 22 points (9:13, 4Q) before a pressing Boiler squad began cutting away at the lead. Purdue shrunk Nebraska's lead to 10 points after a pair of free throws with 4:50 left in the game from junior guard Abbey Ellis (Yallambie, Australia), but the Boilermakers were unable to claw any closer.
Nebraska was led in scoring by freshman center Alexis Markowski, who totaled 23 points and also recorded seven rebounds.
The home team Huskers started hot in the first quarter, amassing a 19-11 advantage through the first 10 minutes. That lead stretched to 35-23 in favor of Nebraska at the halftime break.
An uncharacteristic shooting start set the Boilermakers back after the first two periods, as Purdue shot just 27.0-percent (10-of-37) from the field and 20.0-percent from deep (3-of-15). Two of the three triples were nailed by Smith, who logged nine first-half minutes.
Smith led Gearlds' group at the intermission with six points on the previously mentioned 2-for-2 shooting from beyond the three-point line. Junior forward Rickie Woltman (St. Louis, Mo.) was active in the lane with six of her eight rebounds in the first half. Junior guard Jeanae Terry (Detroit, Mich.) also brought down eight boards in the game to match Woltman for the team lead in that category.
Purdue is back at Mackey Arena for its next contest, taking on Northwestern on Thursday, Feb. 3, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. on B1G+.
The Old Gold & Black were strong in the second half, hitting on 46.9-percent of their shot attempts from the field (15-of-32) and a nearly-as-successful 43.8-percent mark from three-point territory (7-of-16).
Strong throughout the game was freshman guard Jayla Smith (Indianapolis, Ind.), who scored a season-best 16 points (6-of-8 FG, 4-of-4 3PT). The newcomer also snagged two rebounds and dished out two assists. Senior guard Brooke Moore (Atlanta, Ga.) followed Smith up with 12 points (5-of-14 FG, 2-of-6 3PT).
The Cornhuskers grew their lead to as many as 22 points (9:13, 4Q) before a pressing Boiler squad began cutting away at the lead. Purdue shrunk Nebraska's lead to 10 points after a pair of free throws with 4:50 left in the game from junior guard Abbey Ellis (Yallambie, Australia), but the Boilermakers were unable to claw any closer.
Nebraska was led in scoring by freshman center Alexis Markowski, who totaled 23 points and also recorded seven rebounds.
The home team Huskers started hot in the first quarter, amassing a 19-11 advantage through the first 10 minutes. That lead stretched to 35-23 in favor of Nebraska at the halftime break.
An uncharacteristic shooting start set the Boilermakers back after the first two periods, as Purdue shot just 27.0-percent (10-of-37) from the field and 20.0-percent from deep (3-of-15). Two of the three triples were nailed by Smith, who logged nine first-half minutes.
Smith led Gearlds' group at the intermission with six points on the previously mentioned 2-for-2 shooting from beyond the three-point line. Junior forward Rickie Woltman (St. Louis, Mo.) was active in the lane with six of her eight rebounds in the first half. Junior guard Jeanae Terry (Detroit, Mich.) also brought down eight boards in the game to match Woltman for the team lead in that category.
Purdue is back at Mackey Arena for its next contest, taking on Northwestern on Thursday, Feb. 3, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. on B1G+.