WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Following a 10-day break for the holidays the Purdue women's basketball team rolled to its largest Big Ten win since the 2016-17 season with an 89-50 win over Wisconsin on Saturday night at Mackey Arena.
Purdue (8-5, 1-1) extended its home winning streak to nine games in a row, the longest stretch for the program since 12 straight from between the 2005-06 and 2006-07 campaigns.
Five Boilermakers finished in double figures for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign, as all five starters scored 12 or more points. Caitlyn Harper led the way with a game-high 16 points on an efficient 7-of-8 shooting with one triple. Madison Layden connected from the outside four times to tally 14 points and added five assists. Abbey Ellis dropped 12 points to go with five rebounds.
Jeanae Terry finished one assist shy of her third career triple-double, as the fifth-year senior went for 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists with a trio of steals and one block. It was Terry's second double-double of the season and first with points and rebounds.
Mary Ashley Stevenson was two rebounds shy again of a double-double to finish with 13 points and eight rebounds. She now has four games with eight rebounds and eight points, first among Big Ten freshmen.
The Boilermakers shot 51.5% from the field and connected on 9-of-20 3-point attempts. Led by Terry's nine dimes, Purdue dished out 23 assists to just 12 turnovers. The assist mark tied for the fifth most in the Katie Gearlds era.
Purdue forced a season-high 21 turnovers by Wisconsin (7-5, 0-2) that turned into 25 points for the Boilermakers. Terry and Layden evenly split six steals and Purdue notched a season-best 12 takeaways.
The Boilermakers dominated on the glass 44-24 for their second plus-20 margin of the year. Ten of Purdue's 12 players hauled down at least one rebound. Purdue improved to 7-2 this season when holding opponents to 60 points or fewer.
Even as the Boilermakers got 68 points from their starting five, the bench added 21 points. Sophie Swanson led the way for the second unit with nine points.
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 10-1 run with back-to-back triples from Layden. Purdue built the gap up to 17-3, before Wisconsin made its first field goal of the game with 3:42 to play in the period. Ellis, Harper and Layden combined for 20 of Purdue's opening 23 points in the first.
The Boilermakers extended their lead to 25 points with a 19-6 run early in the second with six points from Terry. Purdue shot 61.1% in the frame and tallied nine points off eight Wisconsin giveaways. The Boilermakers scored 40 points in the first half for the fourth time this season, leading 47-23 at the break.
Purdue scored a game-high 26 points in the third to open a 38-point lead going into the fourth. Layden hit a pair of triples to score eight points, while Swanson was 3-of-4 to notch seven in the third.
A quick 10-2 run early in the fourth grew the gap to 44 points when Jayla Smith connected on a corner triple. Terry completed her double-double with five points and three rebounds in the period, but the elusive final assist did not come before she exited with 3:12 to play.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series 56-22 with a 32-6 mark at Mackey Arena.
• The Boilermakers are 24-3 when holding opponents under 60 points under head coach Katie Gearlds.
• The Boilermakers have held two opponents to 50 points or fewer this season for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
• Layden's four triples moved her into the program top-10 for career triples with 175, passing Ukari Figgs (1996-99).
• The Boilermakers are 5-0 this season when dishing out 20 or more assists.
• Purdue last held a Big Ten opponent to 50 or fewer points against Ohio State on Dec. 28, 2019.
• Purdue got out in transition to score 10 points, while holding Wisconsin off the board when on the break.
• The Boilermakers turned 17 offensive rebounds into 16 second chance points while surrendering just seven on five Wisconsin offensive boards.
• Purdue dominated inside out outscore the Badgers in the paint 40-26.
UP NEXT
Purdue will open 2024 and close out a two-game homestand on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tip against Rutgers at Mackey Arena.