WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Squaring off with its ninth ranked opponent of the season, the most in the nation, the Purdue women's basketball team fell 79-37 to No. 4 USC on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena.
Freshman Kendall Puryear finished with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. It was her seventh game in double figures this season. McKenna Layden grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for her third straight game of seven boards or more.
Purdue (7-12, 0-8) shot 30.6% from the field and dished out nine assists on 15 made field goals with a trio coming from Layden.
USC placed three players in double figures, led by Avery Howell's 18 points on four 3-pointers and 6-of-6 at the line. The Trojans shot at a 43.5% clip and went 11-of-13 from behind the arc. USC All-American JuJu Watkins finished with 16 points.
Purdue held a 16-15 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Destini Lombard connected twice from behind the arc as Purdue hit four of its first five shots. Defensively, the Boilermakers held the Trojans to 2-of-11 to start and forced five turnovers in the frame.
After shooting 58.3% from the field and hitting 2-of-3 from three, the Boilermakers went 8-of-37 from the floor without a triple over the next three quarters.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will head to Illinois on Monday for an 8:30 PM ET tip. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.