UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sophomore tandem Sophie Swanson and Rashunda Jones combined to score 61 points as the Purdue women's basketball team knocked off Penn State on the road 92-85 on Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. The win kept Purdue in the hunt for a bid to the Big Ten Tournament.
Jones paced the Boilermakers (10-18, 3-14) with 32 points, including a perfect 9-of-9 at the line. The South Bend, Ind. Added eight assists and six rebounds over 36 minutes of action. Swanson dropped a career-high 29 points on an efficient 10-of-13 shooting, 5-of-6 from distance and 4-of-6 at the line.
They are the first Purdue duo to score 29 points in a game since Katie Gearlds and Shereka Wright did it against Iowa on Feb. 10, 2004.
Lana McCarthy joined the sophomore duo in double figures with 11 points, all in the second half. The freshman was 3-of-3 from the field and 5-of-6 at the line over the final 20 minutes of the game.
The Boilermakers outpaced Penn State (10-18, 1-16) 22-5 on the break, while flipping 17 Lady Lion turnovers into 23 points.
Purdue shot 53.3% from the field and went 10-of-21 (47.6%) from behind the arc to go with 18-of-21 at the line. The Boilermakers dished out 20 assists on 32 made field goals.
TOP STATS
Combined, Jones and Swanson were 21-of-34 from the floor, 6-of-11 from distance and 13-of-15 at the stripe. They scored 30 of Purdue's 41 points in the first half and 31 of the team's 51 points in the second half.
Jones' 32 points were the most by a Boilermaker under Katie Gearlds, while Swanson's ranked third. It was the highest point total by a Boilermaker since Karissa McLaughlin dropped 34 against Kent State in 2019-20, and the most against a BIg Ten foe since Andreona Keys finished with 34 at Iowa in 2017-18.
Jones and Swanson were the first Boilermaker partnership to score 20 points in a game since Jones and Abbey Ellis paired up against Texas A&M last season.
They became the first underclassmen duo at Purdue to tally 20 points in a game since Karissa McLaughlin and Dominique Oden did it against Michigan on Feb. 1, 2018.
KEY MOMENTS
• Neither side found much rhythm to start. Jones connected on a pair of mid-range jumpers to score four of Purdue's opening six points.
• Swanson checked in at the 4:51 mark of the first and took over to score 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with a pair of triples.
• The Boilermakers rolled off 10 straight points to open a 14-10 lead midway through the frame with eight points coming from Swanson.
• Purdue led 18-17 after the first while shooting 47.1% from the floor and half its points off turnovers.
• Jones paced Purdue in the second with nine points.
• The Boilermakers opened the second on a 13-2 run to take a 31-19 lead.
• Penn State rolled off a four-point run to cut the gap to eight with 2:51 to play, but a Jones' 3-pointer stopped the streak. Purdue carried a 41-30 lead at the break.
• Destini Lombard and Reagan Bass were the only other Boilermakers to score in the first half with nine and two points, respectively.
• Purdue converted 12 Penn State turnovers into 13 points.
• Penn State scored 10 straight early in the third to tip Purdue's lead down to 43-40 with 7:04 to play in the frame.
• Swanson and McKenna Layden connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to spur eight straight points for Purdue to get the lead back to 11 points at 53-42.
• The Boilermakers hit four 3-pointers in the third and carried a 61-54 lead into the fourth after Penn State closed the frame on a 11-5 run.
• McCarthy started the fourth with a layup on Purdue's opening possession, before the Boilermaker put the game out of reach with 11 unanswered points to make it 79-63 with five minutes to play.
• After McCarthy scored her seventh point of the fourth, to open an 18-point advantage, the Lady Lions fought back to within seven with a minute to play.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Penn State 36-25.
• The Boilermakers knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers for the first time this season and the 16th time under head coach Katie Gearlds.
• Jones is the 11th player nationally this season and the first from the Big Ten with at least six rebounds and eight assists in a 30-point performance. She is the first Boilermaker to reach that in over 20 years.
• The Boilermakers shot 50% or better for the sixth time this season and are 20-3 under Gearlds.
• Purdue's 22 fastbreak points were a season high.
• McCarthy led Purdue on the glass with eight rebounds.
• Swanson recorded three of Purdue's nine steals on the night.
• Jones became the 20th underclassmen in program history to dish out 100 assists in a season.
• Lombard crossed the 250-assist plateau for her career with four helpers on the night.
• Purdue recorded its highest point tally against a Big Ten opponent since dropping 91 against Penn State in 2020-21.
• The 31-point fourth quarter matched the program record for most points in final frame with a win over MInnesota in 2015-16.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will close out the regular season on Sunday afternoon against Indiana at Mackey Arena. The noon tip will be televised on Peacock. A win will secure the Boilermakers' spot in Indianapolis for the 2025 Big Ten Tournament.