Oden sparks Purdue win over Illinois
Dominique Oden wanted to see Purdue's home losing streak come to an end.
The sophomore guard did so by scoring 25 points, one off her career-high, in the Boilermakers' 64-51 win over Illinois.
“It’s a big step,” said Oden, whose Boilermakers had lost two straight in Mackey Arena. “Especially late in the season, I want to make sure you don’t take any steps back, and this was a big game to make sure that I’m not doing that.”
Oden sparked the second-half run that took the fight out of the Illini, scoring 12 in a 17-6 spurt that took a five-point margin to 16, 54-38, with 8:39 remaining. In the stretch, Oden hit a jumper, then took a dart from Miracle Gray for a fast break layup. She hit another layin, followed by a free throw, then three-pointer, and she followed that with two freebies off an offensive board.
“Coach always says to try to feed the hot hand and she was hot, so that’s who we were going for,” guard Karissa McLaughlin said. “We knew she was going to take care of us and take control of the game. She did great.”
The Boilermakers (18-11 overall, 9-6 in the Big Ten) did much of their damage at the free throw line — Purdue was 21 of 28 — by attacking the basket. Good thing they did, because not much was falling from the perimeter, where the Boilermakers made only three of their 17 attempts.
“We definitely were trying to get to the basket,” Oden said. “Coach mentioned before the game that they foul a lot more than we do, so attacking was a big key, especially when our shots weren’t falling from the outside.”
Following Oden's burst, though, the Boilermakers missed their next nine shots over a four-minute stretch, as the Illini (9-20, 0-15) chipped away at the margin. By the two-minute mark, it was down to seven.
But Purdue countered, frequently at the line, to seal the victory.
“They put the ball on the floor,” Illinois coach Nancy Fahey said. “I could see when the isolations were coming. There was a series of them. That’s why I went to a zone for a while, but they started attacking even more off the bounce.”
Purdue took control in the second half of the first quarter, using an 11-2 run over nine minutes — Illinois scored its two on free throws — for a 20-12 lead with six minutes to go in the first half. During the second-quarter push, Purdue was able to get into transition, once when Oden stole the ball in the backcourt for a layup and later when McLaughlin found Oden for a layup. That one came after a rebound, where Purdue held a 42-31 edge.
"Our rebounding, it’s all we’ve talked about," Coach Sharon Versyp said. "If we can rebound the ball, we always have a chance to be in the game. Obviously, we have to knock down shots, that’s the second part. But it means you’re playing good defense and so we can get up and down.”
The Boilermakers shot only 37.7 percent, but offset that by rebounding and limiting turnovers, only having 12. After Oden, who scored her 25 on 9-of-16 shooting, plus had six rebounds and four assists, Andreona Keys had 14 points and Karissa McLaughlin 13, with seven rebounds and six assists. Ae'Rianna Harris had a team-high 12 rebounds.
Purdue, which is playing with a rotation of only seven, got 19 quality minutes from reserves Nora Kiesler and Miracle Gray, who combined for five points, six rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.
“It’s big,” Versyp said. “The players who are playing have to always bring their gift. We can’t have any kid be off, so if you’re a defender, a rebounder, the shots come and go, but you’ve got have production when you’re on the floor.”
Illinois (9-20, 0-15), led by Alex Wittinger's 16 points and 13 boards, shot only 33.3 percent from the field.
Purdue now has only senior day on Saturday, as it looks to finish strong before tournament play.
“We needed to bring the same energy we have on the road to our house and protect our home court,” Oden said. “We need to finish the season off strong, so this is the beginning to do that.”
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