Purdue women's basketball snapped a three-game losing streak on Thursday night, picking up a 92-85 victory over Penn State in Happy Valley. The triumph came after the worst loss in program history last time out, a 98-46 beatdown against No. 8 Ohio State. The Boilermakers set a new season-high with 92 points on the night, headlined by Rashunda Jones and Sophie Swanson combining for 61 in the offensive explosion.

With the win, the Boilermakers kept their Big Ten Tournament hopes alive for another day. Katie Gearlds and company will now need a victory over Indiana on Sunday to clinch their spot in Indianapolis next week.

Penn State and Gabby Elliott looked poised to hand Purdue another early deficit in the opening five minutes, as the senior had eight of the Lady Lions' first ten points to headline a 10-4 start at the 5:36 mark at the expense of the Boilermakers.

Purdue then had a response to the opening punch, in the form of Sophie Swanson. The sophomore guard came off the bench and helped kickstart a 10-0 run by scoring eight straight points to give the Boilermakers the lead with 2:17 to play in the opening frame. The Boilermakers scored nine points off of seven Penn State turnovers to take control of the game, momentarily.

Swanson scored ten points in the first ten minutes of play to give Purdue the lead, but Penn State used a 58% shooting clip to keep pace with the Boilermakers, who held an 18-17 advantage heading into the second quarter.

After trading buckets to start the second quarter, Purdue used another lengthy run to take a commanding lead in the first half. Rashunda Jones and Destini Lombard rattled off nine straight points before Swanson had her second fastbreak layup off of a steal for the day to give the Boilermakers a 31-19 lead with 4:48 left in the first half.

Penn State stopped the run with a pair of free throws before Swanson connected on another triple to push the Purdue lead to a then high of 13 with 3:57 to play in the half. The Lady Lions then cut the lead to eight after Gabby Elliott went on a solo mini 5-0 run, which was followed by a 5-0 run by the Boilermakers, with Rashunda Jones knocking down a three and Swanson slithering her way to a layup.

Purdue would stand pat and maintain an 11-point lead heading into the break after one of its best halves of the season.

A large part of that effort was the success from three-point range, as the Boilermakers hit 5 of 12 attempts from deep, including a 3-4 mark from Swanson. The sharpshooter had a game-high 17 in the first half, while Jones chipped in 13 to go along with four assists. Destini Lombard also had nine points, as well as five rebounds and four assists in the first half. That trio combined for 39 of Purdue's 41 first half points and helped guide a group that shot 54% from the field.

Penn State would come out of halftime threatening the Boilermaker lead, mounting a comeback bid by going on a 10-0 run, cutting the lead to just three. Purdue would weather the storm, however, outscoring the Lady Lions 10-2 over the next two and a half minutes. That charge included Swanson and McKenna Layden hitting back-to-back threes and Lana McCarthy converting on a second chance layup to extend the lead back to double-digits at 53-42 at the 4:48 mark of the quarter.

Despite the Boilermakers hitting four threes in the quarter, Penn State chipped away at the lead down the stretch of the third quarter, cutting it to a seven point game heading into the final frame.

Once again, Penn State used a late charge to attempt to change its fortunes, but were sent back by the Boilermakers. The Lady Lions cut the lead to five at the 7:13 mark of the fourth quarter, but a pair of layups off steals from Rashunda Jones halted the momentum. Sophie Swanson then set a new career-high with two free throws, which was followed by an Ella Collier three to push the lead to 14 with 5:35 to play.

That final push created enough of a cushion for the Boilermakers to walk out of the Bryce Jordan Center with a victory.

Purdue had one of its best offensive days of the season, cracking 80 points for the fifth time this season, setting a new season-high as well. The Boilermakers shot north of 53% from the field and were 47% from three-point range.

Purdue's sophomore tandem of Sophie Swanson and Rashunda Jones stole the show in Happy Valley, combining for 61 of Purdue's 92 points on the night. It was the first time Purdue teammates scored 20+ points since November 2023, when Jones and Abbey Ellis did so against Texas A&M.

Jones also had a career-best 32 points, in addition to dishing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds in what was her best performance in a Purdue uniform through two years. Swanson, despite being moved to the bench, turned also in a career-day dropping a career-high 29 points on 10-13 shooting, including a 5-6 mark from three-point range. It was her best outing since she scored 25 points against Nebraska last March, being the driving force behind Purdue's victory on Thursday evening.

Lana McCarthy also turned in her best performance in nearly a month, having 11 points on 3-3 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds. The bounce back showing came after she too was brought off the bench, as Reagan Bass earned the start in State College. McCarthy reached double-figures for the first time since January 1st against Michigan State. Destini Lombard was key in the first half, scoring all nine of her points before halftime, while having five rebounds and four assists.