WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team could not keep pace in the second half falling to Minnesota 74-61 on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena for the Fight Like A Boilermaker Pinkout.
After trailing by two at the break, Purdue (9-17, 2-13) fell behind by 11 in the third. The Boilermakers mounted a rally that cut the gap to three points with 6:54 to play in the fourth, but Minnesota (20-8, 8-8) closed the game on an 18-8 run.
Sophie Swanson paced Purdue offensively with a season-high 18 points. The sophomore was 6-of-14 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and a perfect 4-of-4 at the line in her first start since early January.
Rashunda Jones flirted with her first career double-double, going for 14 points and a career-high nine assists. The South Bend native also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and went 5-of-5 at the line.
Kendall Puryear reached double figures for the seventh time in the last eight games. The freshman posted 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting with five rebounds and a pair of steals.
Purdue shot 45.1% from the field on the night and went 4-of-15 from behind the arc. The Boilermakers finished the game 11-of-12 at the line.
Minnesota was powered by Grace Grocholski's 27 points and Sophie Hart's 22 points. The Golden Gophers posted a 50.9% shooting clip and knocked down five triples.
KEY MOMENTS
• The Boilermakers started hot hitting five of their first seven attempts from the floor.
• Jones scored seven points in the opening 10 minutes, while Swanson added four points.
• Purdue went 6-of-6 from the line in the first quarter but trailed 18-17 going to the second.
• Destini Lombard scored four points to start the second, as Purdue opened the frame on a 10-4 run to open a 27-22 lead.
• Minnesota responded with an 8-0 run to take a 36-34 advantage into the break.
• Swanson added six points in the second to carry a team-high 12 points at the half. The Boilermakers shot 54.5% from the field over the first 20 minutes.
• After Swanson started the second with a contested layup to even the score, Minnesota rolled off nine straight points, before Lana McCarthy ended the run with a conventional 3-point play.
• The Golden Gophers extended the lead to 11 points with 3:11 to go in the third, before Puryear connected on back-to-back jumpers to make it a seven-point game to start the fourth.
• Purdue used a 7-1 run with a triple from Lombard and jumpers from Puryear and Swanson to close within one possession at 56-53 with 6:54 to play.
• Minnesota grew its advantage back to double figures with an 8-0 run, while Purdue missed its next five shots.
• The Boilermakers posted a 38% field goal clip and went 1-of-7 in the second half.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series 48-26.
• The Boilermakers' underclassmen scored 54 of their 61 points.
• Purdue's bench outscored Minnesota's 23-3.
• Wednesday was Puryear's 11th game scoring in double figures this season.
• Jones is now four away from garnering 150 career assists.
• Jones is 29-of-30 at the line over her last six games.
UP NEXT
Purdue will hit the road to start a two-game road swing, taking on No. 8 Ohio State on Sunday at Noon on BTN.