Keys drives Purdue to win in Big Ten Tournament opener

INDIANAPOLIS — Andreona Keys already has a ton of motivation, as the captain seeks a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament while not wanting to see Purdue’s slim NCAA hopes extinguished.

More fuel wasn’t needed, but Keys received it anyway, when Illinois’ Kennedy Cattenhead — the two had been physically battling all afternoon — gave her a body check that sent her reeling out of bounds during a back-and-forth third quarter Thursday.

After being momentarily slowed, Keys responded by scoring four of Purdue’s eight during an 8-2 run that put the Boilermakers up for good against Illinois. Purdue advances to play Indiana in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in the Big Ten quarters at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

“I was hurting for a second because I was like, ‘Hey, is this even a legal play?’” said Keys, who scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the 72-58 win. “But hey, the refs didn’t see it and you get away with dirty hits all the time. It just fueled the run for us.”

And Keys sparked it all. The junior wing, fresh off hitting the game-winner on a putback at the buzzer vs. Northwestern on Sunday, added six rebounds, five assists and two steals to her 26 points in 38 minutes.

She looked determined and played like it.

“At the beginning of the game, I told my team that we didn’t come here for one game, and we didn’t want to go home today,” Keys said. “And that’s really all that I needed to keep going and push through that game.”

It might have taken a little more work than fifth-seeded Purdue (20-11) would have liked. But Illinois (9-22), the 12th seed, repeatedly pushed back, despite being short-handed — sophomore leader Alex Wittinger was out with a broken hand — tying th game three times but never taking the lead.

It was Purdue that showed mettle in the second half. With a five-point margin entering the fourth quarter, Keys extended it, hitting a three-pointer from the right corner, then getting a fast-break layup off an Ashley Morrissette feed. After an Illini timeout, Keys hit a 17-foot jumper, bouncing Purdue’s lead to 55-43 at 7:35 of the fourth.

“She didn’t hesitate and took what the defense gave her,” said forward Bridget Perry, who scored 16 points with five assists. “She had her mid-range going. She had her three. She was attacking, so she was really a force in all facets on the court.”

But three minutes later, Illinois cut the Purdue lead to only five, 58-53, forcing a Boilermaker timeout.

They responded, however, as they had throughout the game. Perry hit Morrissette on the right wing for a triple, then Keys had a jumper and two free throws, keeping the margin at a comfortable nine with 1:03 left.

The surge was similar to earlier points in the game. After Purdue held a 20-8 lead following the first quarter, Illinois scored 17 of the first 22 in the second, tying the game at 25 late in the first half. But Morrissette hit back-to-back jumpers, the second a three-pointer, to give the Boilermakers a 30-25 halftime lead.

When it was 36-all at the six-minute mark of the third, shortly after Keys had been bounced into the photographer row out of bounds, Purdue scored six straight.

“It’s kind of that never-say-die attitude,” said Coach Sharon Versyp, whose team has won five straight. “And that’s how it’s been the last four, five games. We said everybody is going to give us a punch and we’ve got to be able to come right back.”

The Boilermakers shot 49.1 percent for the game, including at least 50 percent in every quarter but the second. They were 16-of-27 (59.3 percent) after halftime, with nine assists and only five turnovers. The second was the only offensive blemish, as Purdue hit only one of its first eight and was 4-of-14.

Morrissette scored 13 with six assists and only one turnover, while Ae’Rianna Harris had seven points, six rebounds and five blocks.

Illinois, led by 15 from Cattenhead, shot only 40-percent from the floor, with 16 turnovers.

The Boilermakers now turn their attention to the Hoosiers, who tied Purdue in the Big Ten standings but received a double-bye in the tournament because of the win earlier this season in the teams’ only meeting. On Jan. 19, Indiana beat Purdue 74-60 in Bloomington, a game in which the Boilermakers shot only 42 percent and had a season-low tying eight assists.

“We all wanted it,” Morrissette said of the rematch, “and I know everybody in the state of Indiana wanted it too, probably. It should be a great crowd, Purdue vs. IU, a rivalry game and they got us on their home court. We’re looking to come back.”

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