Purdue upsets No. 10 Maryland, solidifies NCAA standing

Just as soon as Purdue's season looked like it might be skidding away, the Boilermakers grabbed back hold of it.

And they did so by beating No. 10 Maryland 75-65 Thursday, perhaps one of Purdue's biggest wins in recent program history. The victory is the Boilermakers' fourth straight against a top-25 team this season, including three on the road, and puts them back in the NCAA Tournament picture following back-to-back home losses.

"You could see it in their eyes," Coach Sharon Versyp said in her post-game radio interview. "Sometimes people don't like the road, but this group gets rested, they're more focused, they're in tune and look fresh."

After trailing by five at the half, Purdue (17-10 overall, 8-5 in the Big Ten) controlled the fourth quarter, particularly late. Dominique Oden, held scoreless in the first half, hit back-to-back three-pointers, the second giving the Boilermakers a three-point lead with two minutes left.

"That was big," Versyp said. "We believe in her and we want her to shoot. She kept changing her shot again and I'm like, 'Quit hitching your shot, just shoot the ball.' We went to her three of the same play in a row; she hit two and the third they defended pretty well."

But after a defensive stop, freshman Karissa McLaughlin hit two free throws to extend the margin to 70-65 with 54 seconds left. And defensive stops, rebounds and free throws iced the victory. Maryland didn't score in the final two-plus minutes.

Senior Andreona Keys led five in double figures with 17 points.

"I thought Keys kept willing us," Versyp said. "She kept talking, kept communicating, 'We've got this. We've got this.' She never (wavered). When you have a captain who does that on the floor it transfers over."

The Boilermakers trailed by five at the half, 34-29 after having a three-point lead after the first. But they clawed back within a point to start the fourth, then McLaughlin's three-pointer at 8:42 — the rookie scored 15 and had five assists — gave the Boilermakers a one-point lead.

Then, Oden heated up. The sophomore guard was scoreless in the first half, but found her stroke late, finishing with 12 points. Ae'Rianna Harris had 13 points and Tam Farquhar added 12.

But it was the latter two's rebounding that was just as big. Harris finished with nine points and Farquhar six — Keys had nine on the glass, too — to help Purdue play even on the boards with the Terrapins, who outrebound opponents by an average of nearly nine per game.

Purdue held them to only nine second-chance points.

"The rebounding was the key, a big, big key," Versyp said. "... It was great for our kids. They totally committed to it."

The Boilermakers shot 51 percent, with makes on 14-of-16 free throw tries, while Maryland (22-4, 11-2) made less than 40 percent and only 4 of 14 three-pointers. Five Terps scored in double figures, led by Kaila Charles' 14.