Purdue shocks Ohio State, advances to tourney finals
INDIANAPOLIS — In the locker room, Andreona Keys sat down and leaned back, casually talking about the Boilermakers’ shocking upset of top-seeded Ohio State.
The junior captain was calm, almost nonchalant, the reason being that she wanted to give off the vibe that she’d been here before.
She hasn’t — the 71-60 upset win sends Purdue to its first Big Ten Tournament championship game since 2013 — but program has. The Boilermakers, winners of seven straight, will play in their 14th title game in the event’s 23 years when they take on Maryland at 7 p.m. Sunday.
“Let’s go get it,” Keys said.
Purdue (22-11) has reason to be confident, after not only beating the No. 9 Buckeyes (26-6) but controlling most of the second half while staving off every OSU charge.
It was impressive.
Although they committed 20 turnovers, the Boilermakers largely managed the Buckeyes’ full-court press defense, being patient in getting the ball up the court, but sprinting into transition when possible. It was a good mix, orchestrated by point guard Ashley Morrissette. The senior scored a game-high 24 points with seven assists and five turnovers — a respectable total given the circumstances — and a steal in 39 minutes.
“Ashley did just an amazing job, controlling the game the whole time,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “When the ball was in her hands, breaking the press, she just did it exceptionally well.
“Sometimes, we were aggressive. Sometimes, we pulled it back using clock as much as possible.”
Morrissette had to manage a full-on Buckeye assault in the fourth quarter, and it started to ding the Boilermakers, who had led by 15 with three-minutes to go in the third quarter. Twice, OSU turned Purdue over in its own backcourt. When Linnae Harper had a steal and a layup with less than four minutes remaining, the margin was down to only five, its narrowest since halftime.
But the Boilermakers responded, with Bridget Perry fighting through heavy traffic to grab her own miss, then putting it back up around a couple of Buckeyes. The rebound basket at 3:31 extended the lead back to seven. Perry, a senior who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, plays better when angered; and she had reached that level, probably thanks to the physically aggressive Buckeyes.
“I got the rebound and was like, ‘I’m finishing this shot,’” Perry said. “When I get pissed off, I get really determined.”
Purdue answered again at 2:50, when Ae’Rianna Harris scored in the paint, getting the margin back to eight. Then, Morrissette extended it to 10 when she blew by a defender and spun the ball — it hung on the rim ‘til the last moment — into the basket with 1:57 left. OSU was back within eight a couple times, but never closer.
“Purdue played great,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “… It wasn’t our effort or our want-to or anything like that. They just played better than we did.”
The Boilermakers’ defense, especially after the first quarter, frequently confounded the Buckeyes, who shot only 34.2 percent. And after the first, when they hit 10-of-19 for a 22-20 lead, they made only 15-of-54 field goals (27.8). It was particularly rough for OSU star Kelsey Mitchell, the Big Ten Player-of-the-Year, who connected on only 3-of-22 shots for nine points; it was only the second time in the junior’s career she was held to single digits, the first time this season. The Boilermakers played 1-2-2 and 2-3 zone defenses, but extended out at the wings to keep Mitchell, a lefty, occupied.
“We definitely did a great job of her,” Morrissette said. “We surrounded her with two people almost at all times. We wanted to make her play on the right side of the floor.”
The Boilermakers started to take charge late in the first half, using an 8-2 run in the final 90 seconds to take a 36-31 lead into the break. Freshman Dominique Oden, a budding star who had 24 points in the comeback win over IU Friday and 20 vs. OSU, was the catalyst, hitting back-to-back triples in the final 40 seconds, one from the right corner, then one from the left.
Purdue’s defense was the highlight to start the third, as it held the Buckeyes to only a point in the first 6:30 and without a field goal for a seven-minute stretch spanning back to the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Oden opened the third with a triple, then fellow rookie Lamina Cooper added one from the left corner. After a Cooper press-breaking layup, Morrissette’s three gave Purdue a 49-34 lead at 3:11 of the third.
The Boilermakers made 8-of-11 three-pointers, plus hit all but two of their 23 free throw attempts. The Boilermakers shot 37.5 percent, plus had the 20 turnovers, but won on the boards, negating a typical OSU strength.
Purdue’s freshmen, with Oden, Cooper and Harris, combined for 32 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Forward Shayla Cooper led OSU with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Now, Purdue will play for a championship — it would be the 10th in program history — on Sunday vs. No. 2 seed Maryland (ESPN2), not an opportunity the Boilermakers thought they’d have in November. Then, Purdue was 1-3, having endured a rough start to its season. But it's rebounded, now not only with the chance at a title but on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament.
“We believe in each other,” Morrissette said. “We have great team chemistry. We’ve been through some tough losses to ranked teams, and we just pretty much said we’re not losing again.”
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