Purdue offense stalls in loss at Indiana
Senior Andreona Keys hit the milestone, leading Purdue with 17 points to go over 1,000 for her career.
But her teammates didn't help her much Saturday, as the Boilermaker offense struggled mightily in a 72-54 loss at Indiana.
Purdue (10-7 overall, 1-2 in the Big Ten), shot only 34 percent, plus had 16 turnovers, with the first 10 minutes proving to be the biggest difference. Then, Purdue scored only five points, falling behind by 13 after the first quarter. By the 7:40 mark of the second, IU (8-9, 1-3) had extended its lead to 26-7.
"We knew they'd come out quickly the first three minutes," Coach Sharon Versyp said in her post-game radio interview. "But we had layups, easy-looking shots, and you can't shoot (34) percent against an IU team that is your rival and 0-3 coming in. We had shots, didn't finish. It's the same story, just a different day."
Keys had 11 in the first half, but the rest of her teammates combined for only six, with three players having two each. And the result was too predictable, with the Boilermakers trailing 32-17 at halftime.
"It's draining," said Versyp, whose team was only 1 of 8 from three-point range. "If you make some shots, things go a little bit different.
"They pressured the ball. The guards struggled with that quite a bit, which I was shocked because at Rutgers, we weren't fazed by it. The ball-handling, the passing was not very good."
Purdue tried to make a run in the third, getting the margin to 12, 40-28, at the 4:15 mark, but the Hoosiers used a 9-2 run to retake a commanding lead that reached as much as 24. Indiana was solid offensively, making 58.3 of its field goals, including 25 of its 41 attempts from within the three-point line.
Keys' 17 was a team-high, as the senior added six rebounds. Ae'Rianna Harris scored 16 points, 14 in the second half, with six boards and a block. Tyra Buss led IU with 19 points, nine assists and no turnovers.
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