Purdue holds off Ball State charge to win second game in WNIT
Thursday, Karissa McLaughlin's jumper gave Purdue a win.
Sunday, the freshman won it for the Boilermakers at the line, hitting six free throws in the final 41 seconds to help Purdue to a 77-72 over Ball State in the second round of the WNIT.
It was Purdue's second in a row in the tournament on the road — the Boilermakers (20-13), which beat IUPUI Thursday, will likely play the third round there, too, at Indiana — where it'd had success during the regular season, too.
"As a head coach, I just wanted to be able to take them on the road," Coach Sharon Versyp said on her post-game radio interview. "That's what you have to do in the NCAA, be able to go into a hostile environment. I'm just really happy they played as hard as they did and had grit."
McLaughlin was solid in the final minute, but it was Dominique Oden who put the Boilermakers in position; the sophomore scored a career-high tying 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting with eight rebounds. Her and McLaughlin combined for 45 points, hitting seven of their 13 attempts from long range.
"When they score, we do really well," Versyp said.
Purdue, which led by 13 at the 3:55 mark of the second quarter, saw the margin disappear after halftime. By the first seconds of the fourth, BSU (25-7) had stormed back, taking a 56-55 lead on Nakeya Penny's layup. But Oden's three-pointer put the Boilermakers out in front again, then her jumper at 4:50 ended a 14-2 run that extended the lead to 11.
But Oden's was Purdue's last field goal. The Boilermakers saw BSU use an 11-0 run to tie, before they retook the lead on Oden's free throws at 1:07. After the Cards tied on a Moriah Monaco bucket, McLaughlin did her work at the line, combined with Purdue defensive stops. After an ill-advised BSU foul, McLaughlin put the Boilermakers up 73-71 with 41 seconds left. Ae'Rianna Harris boarded a Cardinals' miss, giving McLaughlin a chance again from the line again. Her two makes, with 18 seconds left, gave Purdue a four-point lead, and after BSU had cut the margin to three, she hit her final two to seal the win.
Purdue controlled from the start against Ball State, going up 21-15 after the first quarter, then stretching to double-digits in the second. But the Cardinals gradually got back into the game, drawing to within four at halftime and one by the end of the third quarter.
Purdue shot nearly 53 percent for the game, including a 9-of-17 clip from three-point range. Harris battled foul trouble for the second straight game, but managed 11 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Andreona Keys chipped in 15 points.
The Cardinals, led by Monaco's 20 points, had 27 more field goal attempts (80 total) than the Boilermakers — BSU had 20 offensive boards but only five second-chance points and only nine turnovers compared to Purdue's 22 — but shot only 36 percent.
Purdue now plays Indiana for the third time this season, after the Hoosiers took both games of the regular season.
"We definitely want to keep playing," Versyp said. "... You want to keep playing, keeping expanding, and another two or three weeks with this group is great."
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