Seniors lead Purdue rally over Iowa

Bridget Perry, like the rest of her teammates, labored through much of the first half against Iowa on Sunday.

But the senior kept coming back to one thought, of her grandfather, James Perry, who had died of cancer in September. Considering the Boilermakers were playing in pink uniforms on their “Pink Zone Game” to support cancer survivors, it was a constant motivator.

And in the second half, it jumpstarted Perry and the rest of the Boilermakers, as well, as Purdue outscored Iowa 47-17 after the break to turn a 10-point deficit into a 72-52 win in Mackey Arena.

“I just wanted to go out and play for my grandpa who passed away from cancer,” said Perry, choking back tears that later flowed as she was leaving the press conference. “That’s what I had in mind.”

Purdue (17-11 overall, 8-6 in the Big Ten) couldn’t have been much worse in the first half, then much better in the second. The Boilermakers committed 16 turnovers in the first 20 minutes — ten in the first quarter alone — in falling behind 35-25 at the break.

But in the second, Purdue didn’t commit a turnover until 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, after it had outscored Iowa (16-11, 7-7) 25-5 in the third quarter. The Boilermakers poured in the first dozen points of the second half, holding the Hawkeyes without a point for 5:20 and without a field goal for two minutes more.

Plus, Purdue was dominant on the glass, grabbing a 20-5 edge in the first eight minutes of the third, the last of those boards by Perry leading to a free throw and a 46-38 lead. Moments later, Andreona Keys scored on a fast-break layup to give Purdue a 10-point lead.

“Coach came in and gave a nice (halftime) speech,” deadpanned Ashley Morrissette, who scored a game-high 25 points, with six rebounds, six assists and five steals. “We just had to wake up and realize that not only were we fighting for the win, but we were fighting (for) a much bigger cause. I think that’s what sparked us. We were a little out of sync in the first half, but we definitely looked like one team, one heartbeat in the second half.”

Perry in particular looked changed after the break. The captain had eight of her season-high 11 rebounds in the second half, plus all six of her points. She played only 10 ineffective minutes in the first while picking up three fouls, two of them offensive.

“Honestly, I just kind of got pissed off,” Perry said, explaining her surge.

The Hawkeyes didn’t help themselves much in the second half either, turning the ball over three times in the first 2:30, then missing a ton of shots. The inside looks they had in the first — 26 points in the paint — plus the 19 points off the slew of Purdue turnovers, went away. The Boilermakers’ zone closed off the paint, where Iowa had only six second-half points, and the Hawkeyes made only 3-of-18 three-pointers for the game.

And Purdue seemingly grabbed every rebound, winning on the glass 54-30.

“The second half, we really got after it,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “Played with a lot of heart and a ton of passion. Dominating the boards and our defense got us running and then after that our offense just came.”

The Boilermakers hit 16-of-35 shots in the second half, with assists on 14, and had only five turnovers after the break. Forward Ae’Rianna Harris had 14 points, nine boards and a block, leaving her one short of the Purdue season record for a freshman. And Keys was great, with 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

“She was huge, stayed aggressive, which really helped because in the beginning, we weren’t getting a ton of shots or points in the paint, especially compared to Iowa,” Perry said. “Her being aggressive really helped establish an inside, even as a guard. She always does a great job on the boards. She was great tonight.”

After Purdue led by 14 early in the fourth, Iowa tried to gather up a bit of momentum for a charge. But Morrissette shut the door when the senior captain hit a three-pointer just before the end of the shot clock, doing a pirouette afterward in front of the Boilermaker bench.

It gave Purdue a 15-point lead with 6:23 left.

“That’s was probably the dagger right there,” said Morrissette, who hit 10 of her 20 shots, including three triples. “But I thought that we definitely continued fighting after that, even though we were up a little bit. We didn’t stop. We want to make sure we continue to do that down the stretch in the Big Ten and in the Big Ten Tournament.”

Iowa shot only 31.3 percent for the game and was only 5-of-32 (15.6 percent) in the second half. Center Megan Gustafson had 20 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with four minutes to go. Senior Ally Disterhoft was held to nine on only 3-of-13 shooting.

“They came out a different team at halftime,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said, “and we just kind of withered underneath that.”

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