Oden ignites Boilermakers for third straight win
As time was running out in the first half, Dominique Oden darted into the lane, grabbed a loose ball and tossed it up to the basket, all in a matter of seconds.
Her putback at the buzzer capped an excellent first half, part of a career night, for the sophomore, who helped push Purdue (13-7 overall, 4-2 in the Big Ten) to its third straight win, a 63-60 victory over Northwestern Thursday in Mackey Arena.
“Those are the plays we talk about,” Coach Sharon Versyp said of Oden's rebound basket, which gave Purdue a six-point halftime lead. “You’ve got to have a hustle play, you’ve got to make a play to get the energy going, and that was a big boost going into half.”
But it was only one of several big plays for Oden. The guard scored a career-high 26 points, hitting 8-of-13 field goals, including all five of her three-pointers, and five of her six from the free throw line, plus had five rebounds and three assists.
“She carried us on the offensive end,” Versyp said.
Oden's next shot was a big one, as well, when her three-pointer — the FG make was her sixth and Purdue's 10th — put the Boilermakers up 32-23 at the start of the second half and was was the start of a 7-0 run that stretched the Boilermakers' lead to as many as 13.
But the Wildcats (9-11, 2-4) hung in, finally scoring at 5:51 of the third quarter, on Lindsay Pulliam's free throws, then pulled to within 44-36 going into the fourth quarter.
Purdue led 50-40 on Ae'Rianna Harris' layup early in the fourth, but a 7-0 NU run in rallied the 'Cats, pulling them within three midway through the quarter. But following back-to-back bad possessions — Purdue was forced into a Nora Kiesler three-point miss, then a shot clock violation — Oden made the third count, taking a pass on the right wing and burying her fifth three-pointer for a 53-47 lead at 4:50.
After a NU timeout a few minutes later, Oden found Harris on a a set play backdoor lob, putting Purdue up 59-51.
"I wish we had better ball pressure on that play," NU coach Joe McKeown said. "They made a really good pass to her, she just had to catch and finish, which she's really good at."
The Boilermakers had some nervous moments late, with the Wildcats getting within four with 17 seconds left and forcing a turnover five seconds later. But by the time Bryana Hopkins scored on the next possession, only three seconds remained.
The Wildcats had trouble keeping track of Oden, with her hitting three-pointers from the corners and wings, plus she drove the lane, pulling up for short jumpers. A few games ago, Oden said she felt better offensively when she was aggressive in other ways, like going to the boards. And she had five rebounds, four on the offensive end.
“We keep telling her she’s a scorer, and she works on it quite a bit with coaches,” Versyp said. “She’s got a beautiful shot, she can score on the layup, she’s a physical player, has good height. She has a true jump shot, not every player has a true jump shot. She has to continue to develop that because people are going to try to take away the three.”
Oden's shooting helped the open the offense for teammates, especially in the second half. Then, Purdue hit 13-of-21 shots to hold off the Wildcats. Harris, in particular, was the beneficiary, as the sophomore forward finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting with nine rebounds.
“Coach emphasizes a lot the inside-outside game,” Harris said. “The more you move the ball, the more the defense moves, which is how we get the open outside shots.”
Outside of Oden's 5-of-9 start in the first half, Purdue hit only 4-of-19 field goals in the first 20 minutes, but rebounded to shoot nearly 45 percent from the field and had only 13 turnovers. Tam Farquhar, starting in place of the ill Lamina Cooper for the second straight game, had eight points and six rebounds.
NU, led by Pulliam's 20 points, shot 44 percent from the field.
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