WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to defeat Maine 60-51 on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers (5-3) locked the Black Bears (3-6) down defensively over the final 20 minutes to outscore them 31-16.
Purdue was led by Reagan Bass' 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go with six rebounds, an assist, a block and two steals. Destini Lombard recorded her second double-double on the year with a 12-point, 13-rebound night. The fifth year added a team-high three steals.
Ella Collier led the way on the outside with a season-high three 3-pointers, while Bass and Sophie Swanson both connected once.
TOP STATS
The Boilermakers' second half performance helped erase a nine-point deficit early in the third. After Maine made seven 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, Purdue surrendered just one the rest of the night. Purdue bottled the Black Bears up to just 24% shooting in the second half, 1-of-14 from behind the arc and eight turnovers.
The Boilermakers tallied six of their 10 steals in the second half. Maine scored seven points in the third and nine points in the fourth.
Offensively, Bass took over in the second half with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Lombard nearly recorded her double-double over the final two frames with eight points and seven rebounds. The Boilermakers tallied 22 of their 31 second half points in the paint.
KEY MOMENTS
• The Boilermakers connected on three of their first four makes of the night, including a pair of Collier triples to take a 10-1 lead.
• Swanson tallied five straight points for Purdue, before a Bass putback gave Purdue a 17-6 lead in the first.
• Maine chipped away at Purdue's lead early in the second, before going a 13-3 run over the last 4:06. The Black Bears were 6-of-9 from distance in the second and held a 35-29 lead at the break.
• The Blackbears opened the third with a 3-pointer at the 9:25 mark. That would be their final field goal for the next 5:20.
• Purdue rolled off 12 straight points, including seven straight from Bass, to erase a nine-point gap and take a 3-point lead.
• Collier scored five points in the final 3:36 of the third as Purdue closed on a 9-2 run to take a 50-42 lead into the fourth.
• Purdue held Maine to 1-of-7 from the field and without a field goal over the final 3:12 of the game.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series 2-1.
• After shooting just four free throws at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Purdue finished the night 7-of-10 at the line.
• Collier notched a season-high two blocks to lead the team.
• Lombard matched her career high with 13 rebounds.
• The Boilermakers forced the Black Bears to turn the ball over 15 times and scored 21 points off miscues. The Boilermakers recorded their third game this season with 10 steals.
• Purdue scored 36 points in the paint.
• The 51 points allowed were the fifth lowest score allowed during the Katie Gearlds era. Purdue is 30-4 when holding opponents to 60 points or fewer.
UP NEXT
Purdue will open Big Ten play on Saturday afternoon at Mackey Arena against No. 7 Maryland. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on B1G+.