11/12/2016 basketball Edit

Purdue starts 0-2 after loss to Villanova

Kyle Charters • BoilerUpload

Staff Writer

Friday, it was the start that doomed the Boilermakers.

Saturday, it was the finish.

An eight-plus minute scoring drought from midway through the third quarter into the fourth helped Villanova capture the lead, then pull away from Purdue (0-2).

“They got things going in the second half and we weren’t scoring,” Coach Sharon Versyp said in her post-game radio interview after Purdue's 58-44 loss.

The Boilermakers held a 34-31 lead — the margin had been as big as nine points in the first half — on Andreona Keys’ layup with 4:26 remaining in the third. But Purdue missed its next eight shots, with four turnovers, until five-and-a-half minutes remained. And by then, Villanova led 48-36. The lead expanded to 17 with three minutes left.

The Boilermakers shot only 40.4 percent of their shots, with 15 turnovers. And they made only seven field goals in the second half, after leading 28-26 at the break.

Ashley Morrissette paced Purdue with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while freshman Dominique Oden joined her in double-figures with 12 points. Rookie Ae’Rianna Harris had eight points, a team-high six rebounds, two blocks and a steal, while Keys had four points and four assists.

Villanova’s Adrianna Hahn led all scorers with 21 points, knocking down 5-of-6 three-pointers, while Meghan Quinn had 10 points and seven boards.

The Boilermakers start the season 0-2 for the first time since the 1994-95 season, when Purdue lost to fifth-ranked Stanford and No. 12 Vanderbilt. But that group went on to win a Big Ten Championship and to the Elite Eight.

This Purdue team will need to improve quickly.

“We’re not a very good basketball team,” Versyp said. “I’ll take responsibility. We’re not good at anything we do. We can’t score the basketball. We don’t understand what we’re doing. We better get going. But I’ll take responsibility and I’ll make sure we’re better.”