Penn State runs away from Purdue in second half
With the game up for grabs early in the fourth quarter, Penn State took control against Purdue on Saturday afternoon in Happy Valley.
The Boilermakers (15-11 overall, 6-6 in the Big Ten), who had led by four at halftime, saw that edge disappear in the third, then blow up in the fourth. Then, Penn State (17-8, 7-6) expanded its lead to as many as 10, winning 79-73.
“That’s usually what they do in the second half,” Sharon Versyp said in her post-game radio interview, about the Nittany Lions’ aggressive offense. “They’re going to be coming at us. They’re going to be driving to the hole. They did it with ease and got the calls. For them, it was a good game plan.”
It worked well. PSU went to the foul line 34 times, hitting 27, outscoring Purdue by 17 from the stripe. The difference was most evident in the third quarter, when neither team shot well — only 4-of-16 for Purdue and 3-of-14 for Penn State — but the Nittany Lions made 12 of their 15 from the line.
“We just didn’t play very good defense, didn’t stop the ball,” Versyp said. "Our inside game offensively and defensively, was extremely poor today. But our guards weren’t slowing down the ball. They could take the ball and drive through five of us. Obviously that’s what really hurt us.”
Purdue, which shot 53 percent in the first half, led 42-38 at halftime. But PSU took a two-point lead on a three-point play by Sierra Moore at the 6:38 mark of the third. And Moore had four free throws in the final 40 seconds of the third, keeping the margin at three.
“In that third quarter, we were just trying to plug along,” Versyp said. “We didn’t execute some plays and when we did, we didn’t finish well.”
The Boilermakers got it to two two minutes into the fourth on Dominique Oden’s triple, but that was as close as they would get. The margin hit 10, 72-62, on Moore’s layup about four minutes later.
The Nittany Lions, led by Teniya Page’s 24 and Moore’s 13, shot only 36.9 percent but they had only six turnovers. And, of course, the 27 free throws.
Purdue, which has lost two straight, shot 44.4 percent, with seven three-pointers. And it assisted on 17 of 28 field goals with only nine turnovers.
The difference was the line, where the Boilermakers were 10-of-12.
“We did foul them, there’s no question,” Versyp said. “But we got fouled and there was no call. … But that’s what you get on the road. There’s no excuse. Our defense was really bad. The inside game jut really, really hurt.”
Ashley Morrissette led Purdue with 17 points but on only 4-of-16 shooting, and six assists. Oden had 15, while Bridget Perry had 14 and five rebounds. Andreona Keys had a double-double, with 11 and 10.
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