WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team is set to host the No. 1-ranked UCLA Bruins on Tuesday night at Mackey Arena. Mike Hall and Christy Winters Scott will call the 7 p.m. tip on the Big Ten Network.
As always, Tim Newton and Jane Schott will be courtside for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM and Purdue Stretch Internet.
GAME INFORMATION
Purdue (7-7, 0-3) vs. No. 1 UCLA (15-0, 4-0)
Tuesday, Jan. 7
Time: 7 PM
TV/Stream: BTN
Radio: 95.3 BOB FM
Audio: Purdue Stretch Internet
Live Stats: Purduestats.com
LAST TIME OUT
A first half deficit proved too much for the Boilermakers to overcome in a 77-59 loss at No. 21 Michigan State on New Year's Day. Destini Lombard and Lana McCarthy paced Purdue with 10 points each. Lombard tallied four steals. The Boilermakers closed the game strong by winning the second half 38-29 and holding the Spartans to 1-of-16 from behind the arc and just 24% from the field over the final 20 minutes.
NOTES
• Purdue and UCLA are tied 2-2 in the all-time series. This will be the first Big Ten Conference meeting between the two clubs.
• The Boilermakers beat the Bruins 61-54 in their only previous trip to West Lafayette in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament with a team-high 15 points from Katie Gearlds.
• Purdue will face the No. 1 team in the nation for the fifth time in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers' last win against the top-ranked team in the land was against Tennessee on Nov. 15, 1998, starting Purdue's run to the 1999 National Championship.
• The Boilermakers have the hardest NET strength of schedule in the Big Ten at 10 in the nation.
• Purdue is one of two teams (UConn) in the nation to have two freshmen (Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear) averaging 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game with a 50% shooting.
• McCarthy is the lone freshman from the Big Ten and one of just 10 nationally to average over 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 50% or better on the year (7.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 52.6%)
• Reagan Bass is 10th in the Big Ten with a team-high 18 blocks this season. The senior from Strongsville, Ohio, is 11th with 1.3 rejections per game.
• Destini Lombard leads the Big Ten in steals per game in league play with 4.0. She tops the conference with 40 swipes on the season to rank 23rd nationally.
• After tallying 10 steals in her last two games, Destini Lombard is tied for fourth in the nation in games with three or more steals with nine. Her six swipes against Iowa were the most by a Boilermaker since 2022-23.
• Purdue sits third in the conference with a 40.4% 3-point clip in Big Ten action.
• Lombard is one of four Big Ten guards to average over 12 points per game while shooting 49% or better on the year.
• Rashunda Jones has been the top sub off the bench for Purdue with 9.3 points per game in conference action, good for second on the team. The sophomore with 8.3 points and 3.1 assists in 21.2 minutes per game off the bench this year, while shooting 47.5% from the field.
• Three Boilermakers have made 18 or more 3-pointers this season, tying Michigan, Minnesota and Washington for the most in the Big Ten. Destini Lombard has led the way with 24 makes, Ella Collier is second with 20 makes, while Sophie Swanson sits third with 18.
• In her fifth year, Collier has made 269 3-pointers in 150 career games. She has made multiple triples 78 times.
• Swanson is currently 14th on Purdue's career 3-pointer percentage list with a 35.3% mark on 59 makes.
• Purdue has recorded 10 or more steals in six games, including three of the last four games. The Boilermakers are 7-2 when opponents turn it over 15 or more times.
• Facing a daunting schedule, six of Purdue's seven losses have come to teams in the top 30 of the NET and all have either been Quad 1 or 2 defeats.