WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Facing its fifth straight ranked Big Ten opponent, the longest run in league history, the Purdue women's basketball team fell 87-60 to No. 25 Michigan on Saturday afternoon in Mackey Arena.
The Boilermakers (7-9, 0-5) were led by Rashunda Jones' 11 points. The sophomore tallied her third game in double figures off the bench and finished the night going 7-of-8 at the line. Kendall Puryear made her first career start and posted a double-figure performance on 4-of-6 shooting.
McKenna Layden followed up her career night against No. 1 UCLA with six points, five rebounds and one assist in 25 minutes of work.
Purdue finished the game with a season-high 17 made free throws. Reagan Bass went 4-of-4 at the line to finish the night with eight points. For the game, Purdue shot 36.5% and knocked down 5-of-17 3-point attempts.
The Wolverines (11-5, 2-3) posted a 45.9% shooting clip and connected 10 times behind the arc. Mila Holloway recorded a game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Michigan was 21-of-29 at the line for the game.
NOTES
• Purdue started a pair of true freshmen (Puryear and Jordyn Poole) for the first time since Kayana Traylor and Nyagoa Gony made the starting five against Western Illinois on Nov. 15, 2018.
• The Boilermakers outscored the Wolverines 21-17 in the fourth quarter, led by Jones' six points in the frame.
• Purdue outscored Michigan in second chance points, tallying 10 on eight offensive rebounds.
• The Boilermakers got 32 points from the bench on Saturday, their highest mark in Big Ten play this season.
• Jones dished out a team-high three assists, her sixth time leading the team this season.
• Reagan Bass made her 100th career start on Saturday.
• Purdue entered Saturday's game with the hardest NET strength of schedule in the nation.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will make their two-game West Coast trek next week for games at Oregon on Jan. 15 and Washington on Jan. 18.