WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Trailing by as many as 19 points, the Purdue women's basketball team closed the gap all the way down to four with two minutes to play, but the deficit proved too much to overcome in a 68-59 loss to Michigan State on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena.
Abbey Ellis posted her fourth 20-point outing of the season with a game-high 22 points. The fifth-year senior was 8-of-19 from the floor and 5-of-5 at the line to go with four rebounds.
Sophie Swanson had a career night behind the arc. The freshman dropped 19 points with five triples and two assists in 24 minutes of action, all career highs. It was the most made triples by a Purdue freshman since Madison Layden connected on five in the Big Ten Tournament against Iowa in 2020-21.
The Boilermakers (11-15, 4-11) finished with a 36.1% clip from the field and eight made 3-pointers with five coming in the second half. Purdue won the battle on the glass 37-36, as Jeanae Terry matched her season high with 15 rebounds. Terry also tallied seven of Purdue's 15 assists on the night.
On the defensive end, Purdue held Michigan State (19-7, 9-6) to 39.7% shooting, only its fourth sub-40% game this year. The Boilermakers kept the Spartans 17 points below their season scoring average.
After trailing by 14 at the break, the Boilermakers outscored Michigan State 38-33 in the second half.
The Boilermakers started strong on the defensive end in the first quarter, forcing four turnovers in the first three minutes. Ellis scored four points as Purdue trailed 16-9 after 10 minutes.
Swanson gave the Boilermakers a spark off the bench in the second. The sophomore hit a pair of triples to cut the gap down to three early in the frame. Michigan State closed the half on an 11-2 run to take a 35-21 lead into the break.
Swanson accounted for 11 of Purdue's 21 points over the opening 20 minutes.
Following a Spartan five-point swing to start the third, Ellis recorded seven points in a 13-2 run that brought Purdue within eight late in the third. Stevenson hit a mid-range jumper late in the frame, before Michigan State scored at the buzzer to make it a 10-point game at the start of the fourth.
Purdue began its rally when Michigan State opened a 15-point gap with 4:47 to play. Madison Layden and Swanson hit back-to-back triples, before Ellis converted her own traditional 3-point play. A tough Caitlyn Harper finish inside made it 60-56 with 2:03 to play.
Despite a Swanson triple with 42 seconds left to cut the gap back to five, the Boilermakers could not chip the deficit down further.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Michigan State 44-39.
• The Boilermakers were a perfect 7-of-7 at the line, their first perfect night since Feb. 6, 2022, against Indiana.
• Madison Layden finished with eight points and a pair of triples. The senior is now 16 points shy of 1,000 for her career and two 3-pointers away from reaching 200 during her time as a Boilermaker.
• Jeanae Terry recorded her 21st game with 10 or more rebounds at Purdue.
• Finishing with eight points, Mary Ashley Stevenson became the 10th freshman in Purdue history to score 260 points and grab 125 rebounds.
• Purdue is now the only team in the nation to have three different freshmen score 19 or more points in a game this season.
• Abbey Ellis matched Erika Valek for 28th all-time in Purdue history double-digit scoring games with 58.
• Ellis is now 32nd in career points at Purdue with 1,043.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will head back out on the road for a 4 p.m. ET tip against Wisconsin on the Big Ten Network.