WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team took Nebraska to the wire in a 74-68 loss on Thursday night in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers trimmed a 12-point fourth quarter deficit down to three with two minutes to play but could not erase the gap.
Rashunda Jones exploded for a season-high 20 points, going 5-of-10 from the field and 10-of-10 at the line. It was the sophomores' fourth 20-point performance of her career and three shy of her career high.
McKenna Layden continued her hot streak with a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc, matching the most triples in a game by a Boilermaker this season.
Sophie Swanson finished in double figures for the first time since Dec. 21 with 11 points from 4-of-6 from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers. Destini Lombard posted her 15th in double figures this season with 11 points.
The Boilermakers (7-14, 0-10) shot an even 50% (24-48) from the field and connected on a season-high nine 3-pointers, finishing the night 9-of-20 from distance.
Purdue stood firm on the defensive end, holding the Cornhuskers (16-5, 7-3) to two made 3-pointers. Freshmen posts Kendall Puryear and Lana McCarthy teamed up to limit Alexis Markowski to two rebounds on the night, after grabbing 21 in the matchup last year.
Purdue won the battle on the boards 29-28 and flipped five offensive rebounds into seven point, as Nebraska scored three points on eight second chance opportunities.
Markowski finished with 18 points, while freshman Britt Prince led the way with a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half.
Nebraska took advantage of Purdue's miscues to score 29 points on 21 turnovers.
KEY MOMENTS
• Jones powered the Boilermakers in the early going with the first six points of the game.
• Nebraska opened a seven-point advantage with 3:33 to play in the first, but Layden hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Lombard beat the buzzer to trim the gap to 17-16 10 minutes into the game.
• Purdue shot 46.2% form the field and 2-of-5 from behind the arc in the first.
• Swanson sparked Purdue into the lead in the second quarter with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and a pair of triples.
• The Boilermakers were 9-of-14 from the floor and outscored Nebraska 23-19 in the second.
• Jones tallied 12 points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, as Purdue went 55.6 from the field to lead 39-36 at the break.
• Lombard made a runner in the lane to start the third, before Nebraska went on a 12-2 run.
• Purdue overcame a 6:52 drought without a field goal in the third as Nebraska opened up a seven-point advantage.
• Layden connected twice from distance in the third, and Jones notched six points with Purdue trailing 57-53 with 10 minutes to play.
• Nebraska opened the fourth on an eight-point run, before Swanson hit a triple to cut the gap to nine with 6:39 to play.
• Swanson's 3-pointer started a 13-4 run that saw the Boilermakers pull within three at 69-66 with 2:36 to go. Six different players scored on the run.
• Purdue hit four of their final six shots in the game, but Prince powered the Cornhuskers with 11 points in the final frame.
NOTES
• Nebraska leads the all-time series 12-10.
• Jones touched double figures for the sixth time this season and the 17th time in her career.
• Jones has knocked down 10 free throws in a game twice in her career. She is the eighth Boilermaker since 2002-03 to have multiple 10-free throw games in a career.
• The Boilermakers picked up 22 points from the bench, the 12th game with
• Swanson made three 3-pointers in a game for the fifth time this season. It was her 16th career game with multiple triples.
• The Boilermakers shot 50% for the fourth time this year and first since Dec. 17 at Miami (50%)
• Jones is the first Boilermaker to go perfect at the line with 10 or more makes since Karissa McLaughlin against Kent State on Dec. 8, 2019.
• Jones moved up to 24th on Purdue's sophomore assists chart with four helpers on Thursday night.
• Layden led Purdue with six rebounds, marking the sixth time in the last seven games she topped the team on the glass.
UP NEXT
Purdue will welcome home its alumnae on Sunday to celebrate its 50th season when the Boilermakers host Wisconsin at 2 p.m. on B1G+. Sunday will also mark the National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration.