WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Down eight with five minutes to play in the third quarter, the Purdue women's basketball team rallied to a 78-67 win over Bellarmine on Monday night in Mackey Arena. Purdue (3-1) sealed the win with a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter.
A pair of Boilermakers recorded double-doubles for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Reagan Bass led Purdue with her second straight 20-point performance, finishing with 21 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Lana McCarthy recorded her second double-double in four games with 12 points and 10 rebounds to go with two assists.
Rashunda Jones fueled the Boilermakers in the second half to tally 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, while Sophie Swanson hit a trio of 3-pointers for the second straight game to finish with 13 points.
Purdue finished the game with a 47.8% shooting percentage with five 3-pointers.
Defensively, the Boilermakers held Bellarmine (3-2) to a 34.7% from the field, 20.7% from distance, and turned 15 turnovers into 22 points.
TOP STATS
Bass shot 8-of-11 from the field, 1-of-1 from distance and 4-of-6 from the line for her second straight 20-point outing. Bass grabbed three of her 11 points on the offensive end, scoring twice.
Purdue committed 22 turnovers, but its defense conceded just 12 points off the miscues.
The Boilermakers put the game away with stout defense and fast offense to outscore the Knights 20-11 in the fourth quarter. Jones was 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line to score 11 points. Purdue shot 8-of-14 (57.1%), while Bellarmine was 4-of-17 (23.5%), including 12 straight misses during the Boilermakers' run.
KEY MOMENTS
• The Boilermakers started the game on a 14-2 run, McCarthy and Bass powered Purdue with the first 11 points, before Swanson connected on her first triple of the game.
• The Knights punched back on an 8-2 swing late in the first to cut the gap to six, but jumpers from McCarthy and Mahri Petree extended the lead back to 10 points.
• Swanson and Collier connected on back-to-back-to-back triples midway to start a 13-3 run for the Boilermakers to open a 17-point advantage with 5:49 to play in the half.
• Purdue tallied two field goals the remainder of the half, as the Knights trimmed the gap down to five points at the break.
• Bellarmine stormed out the break to go on a 13-point run, opening up a 47-39 lead. The total run for the Knights was 25-0 between the second and third quarters.
• The Boilermakers did not use a timeout during the run, before Kendall Puryear gave Purdue its first points of the half with an and-one with 4:47 to play in the third.
• Bass scored seven straight late in the third to pull Purdue within one, before Amiyah Reynolds knotted the game at 52-52 on a made free throw.
• Jones powered the Boilermakers on a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of her 11 fourth quarter points during the streak. The Boilermakers went 7-of-8 from the field on the run.
NOTES
• Monday was the first meeting between the two programs.
• Bass and McCarthy were the first Boilermaker duo to record double-doubles in a game since Fatou Diagne and Ae'Rianna Harris teamed up in the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan State in 2019-20.
• Purdue won the rebounding battle 50-34. The 50 boards matched the previous high of the Gearlds era against Michigan State last season.
• Swanson has made three or more 3-pointers in seven of her 30 career games.
• The Boilermakers recorded 40 points in the paint.
• Purdue has been 3-1 or better through four games in all four of Katie Gearlds' seasons.
• Monday marked the second time Purdue surrendered a 25-point run and won the game, joining a 27-point run by Florida State when Purdue won 66-61 in the 2021 St. Pete Showcase.
• Purdue scored 19 or more points in every quarter, while holding Bellarmine to 12 and 11 in the first and fourth quarters, respectively.
• The Boilermakers are 20-6 under Gearlds when four players reach double figures.
UP NEXT
Purdue will close out its five-game homestand to start the year with a 1 p.m. tip against UT Arlington on Sunday. The Boilermakers will welcome home Leroy Keyes Hall of Fame inductee and current Lady Mavs head coach Shereka Wright.