WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A shooting lull in the second and third quarters proved too much for the Purdue women's basketball team to overcome in a 77-65 loss to Nebraska on Saturday afternoon at Mackey Arena.
The Boilermakers (11-14, 4-10) held a 10-point lead after the first quarter, but Nebraska (17-9, 9-6) outscored the hosts 43-22 over the next 20 minutes to pull away.
Mary Ashley Stevenson and Abbey Ellis paced Purdue on the offensive end with 16 points apiece. Ellis tallied 12 of her points in the second half, as she finished with a 3-pointer and went 5-of-8 at the line.
Stevenson battled through the afternoon with 16 points on 4-of-10 shooting and a perfect 8-of-8 mark at the line. The New York City native joined USC's JuJu Watkins as the only freshmen to go perfect at the line with eight or more free throws twice this season.
Jeanae Terry moved up to third in program history with a game-high 11 assists. The fifth-year senior passed Katie Douglas to climb up the record list with 528 assists as a Boilermaker. It was Terry's fifth double-digit dime game this season and the 14th of her career in West Lafayette.
Purdue took care of the ball and committed a season-low seven turnovers, while dishing out 16 assists on 22 made field goals. Shooting struggles led to a 37.3% clip from the floor for the game.
Nebraska was led by a 20-point, 21-rebound double-double by Alexis Markowski. The Cornhuskers shot 44.6% overall and made eight 3-pointers. The visitors won the rebounding battle 42-26.
Purdue opened with a 7-2 run, as Layden hit a 3-pointer just four seconds into the game. After the Cornhuskers responded to take a 10-9 lead, Purdue rolled off a 13-2 run to close the first. Jones scored five during the stretch.
Over the next 20 minutes, Purdue made seven of its next 27 field goals, while Nebraska went 14-of-30. After the Boilermakers trailed 36-32 at the break, Nebraska went on a 12-0 run early in in the third. Ellis scored eight of Purdue's 12 points out of halftime.
Purdue shot 46% in the fourth quarter, as Stevenson posted six points in the frame. The Boilermakers chipped the gap down to 13 three times, but a trio of Nebraska triples in the fourth halted any late Purdue run.
NOTES
• The all-time series is now tied at 10-10.
• Stevenson recorded her 13th game in double figures this year, fourth most by a Purdue freshman since 2009-10.
• Prior to Terry's arrival in West Lafayette, a Boilermaker had tallied 10 or more assists just 15 times since 2009-10.
• Terry finished with two points, moving her within 13 of 1,000 for her career.
• Madison Layden hit a trio of triples to finish with 11 points. The senior is 24 points away from joining the 1,000-point club. She is also four 3-pointers shy of 200 in her career.
• Despite forcing Nebraska into 12 turnovers, the Boilermakers tallied seven points off giveaways.
• Layden now has 54 made triples on the year, good for ninth by a senior in Boilermaker history.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will continue their two-game homestand on Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. tip against Michigan State on B1G+.