Purdue back above .500 with dominant win over Colgate

In the last five games, the Boilermakers have felt like a different team.

They’ve looked like it and — most importantly — played like it, the latest being a routine victory over Colgate on Sunday in Mackey Arena. Purdue (5-4), which is above .500 for the first time this season after winning its fourth game in five chances, kept up its aggression against the Raiders (1-6), and in doing so assisted on 22 of its 27 field goals in winning 71-51.

“We took that break and went to Cancun, dominated there, played three games, two we won and played a really tight game with Stanford,” junior Andreona Keys said, explaining Purdue’s turnaround. “We knew that we needed to come out and do that every single time, be aggressive and don’t back down to anybody. We knew that we were better than this team on paper, but we still had to come out with a fire in us and we have to keep playing with that fire.”

Better on paper and in person.

Although Colgate hung around a little longer than expected — Lebanon native and Raider senior Katie Curtis and Purdue’s poor free throw shooting were contributing factors — the Boilermakers took over late in the first half. And they did so because of the quality of their depth vs. an outmatched Colgate squad.

Keys led Purdue with 13 points, while three others — Bridget Perry, Dominique Oden and Tiara Murphy — added 10 each. Murphy might have had more, but the sophomore, who was having her best game of the season, hurt her right knee, perhaps severely, on a layup attempt in the second half.

Dominique McBryde added nine points, while Lamina Cooper had eight. Ashley Morrissette scored only seven on 3-of-12 shooting, but had career-highs of 10 assists and five steals.

“Sharing the ball and getting everybody involved is key this year and this team,” Morrissette said. “We did that in Cancun and we have done that in previous games, so we had that mind, and it was my main focus, considering that (my) shots weren’t falling.”

Murphy hit a three-pointer, one of the few unassisted baskets, ahead of the halftime buzzer, giving the Boilermakers a 38-29 lead, their biggest margin of the first half. The stretch reached 7-0 with the first bucket of the second, when Perry hit a jumper, continuing her hot start before foul trouble set in.

The margin got to 10 on Keys’ free throw a couple minutes later. A 12-2 run spanning the third quarter to the fourth gave the Boilermakers a 22-point lead, the last bucket coming when Murphy found Ae’Rianna Harris for a layup. Earlier, Murphy was the recipient of a Morrissette assist, hitting her second three-pointer.

“The aggressive mentality, attack mode, has always been preached by Coach V,” Morrissette said. “I think we’re definitely falling into that.”

But the attack took a hit at the 3:40 mark of the fourth quarter. Then, Murphy had a mid-court steal, taking off for a layup, but as she rose, Raider Rachel Thompson’s foul spun her off balance. And Murphy’s right knee buckled as she landed then fell to the floor.

The backup point will have an MRI on Monday.

“We’ll then obviously know exactly what’s wrong with it,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “But she did feel it kind of give out a little bit. We’ll get the MRI confirmation and let everybody know.”

The Boilermakers hit 44.1 percent of their field goals, including six three-pointers, but they missed eight of 19 free throws. Purdue owned a 42-32 edge on the glass, with Keys grabbing 10, to give her a double-double, and McBryde having 10 as well.

Colgate hit only 37.7 percent of its shots, with 21 turnovers. Curtis, who played at Lebanon High School, was outstanding, scoring a career-high 22 points, the only Raider in double-figures.

The Boilermakers now only have a day to prepare for Central Michigan, Tuesday’s opponent; in all, they’ll play four teams in an eight-day stretch. But they’re eager, considering they’ve been improved of late.

“This team has not reached it potential yet, so we’re looking to increase in all areas of the game,” Morrissette said. “Once we do that, we’ll be a team to be reckoned with.”

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