Women's basketball: Boilers falls to Spartans 97-70 for fifth straight loss

The wheels have fallen off for Purdue women's basketball in the heart of its schedule as the Boilermakers dropped their fifth-straight game on Wednesday, falling to Michigan State 97-70 in East Lansing.

Purdue now falls to 9-10 to have a losing record for the first time since the 0-2 trip to the Bahamas that wrapped up on November 22nd. The Boilermakers are also tied for second to last place in the Big Ten with a mark of 2-6 in conference play.

Next up for Katie Gearlds and company is a home date against No. 12 Ohio State on Sunday afternoon in Mackey Arena, who is looking to avenge its loss to the Boilermakers last season.

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After trading baskets to tie things up at 4-4 in the first couple minutes of the game, Michigan State got things going offensively in the early going. The Spartans went on a 7-0 run with Moira Joiner was the catalyst behind the stretch knocking down a three to cap off the run, giving the Spartans the seven point advantage. Michigan State began the night shooting 5-7 from the field compared to a 2-7 clip by the Boilermakers.

Caitlyn Harper helped chip away at the Michigan State advantage, with back-to-back scores to bring the Boilermakers within dive at the 2:40 mark of the first quarter. The Spartans gained back the momentum, going on a brief 4-0 run to take it a 22-13 game before Abbey Ellis connected on back-to-back three-pointers in the final 98 seconds of the quarter.

After a slow start, Ellis came alive in the final few minutes of the quarter, scoring eight points and being the sole reason the Boilermakers were able to stay within striking distance.

Michigan State's Julia Ayrault was the focal point of the offense through the opening ten minutes, scoring nine points on 3-5 shooting to help guide the Spartans to a 24-19 lead going into the second quarter.

The Spartans then really opened up the floodgates in the second quarter, taking complete command of the game. Led by Abbey Kimball and Julia Ayrault, Michigan State went on a 15-3 run to start the quarter, expanding the lead to as much as 17 at the 4:12 mark of the quarter.

Abbey Ellis once again came on strong in the final four minutes of the half, scoring six points, while Madison Layden was the only other Boilermaker to score in the quarter, also chipping in six points.

The what seems like nightly turnover troubles reared their ugly head once again for Purdue in the first half, coughing it up 12 times in the first 20 minutes, leading to 11 Michigan State points. The Spartans also feasted on the interior of the Purdue defense, scoring 28 points in the paint, compared to the Boilermakers' 12.

Purdue found most of its success when getting out in transition, with 14 of its 24 points in the first half coming by way of fast break opportunities.

The second half was more of the same for both sides as the Spartans came out strong while the Boilermakers struggled to cut into the sizable lead. Michigan State open the third quarter on an 8-0 run, which including three-pointers from Joiner and Kimball, along with another bucket by Ayrault to cap things off. Purdue was 0-3 from the field with three turnovers during that surge by the Spartans.

That stretch coming out of the break expanded Michigan State's lead to a game-high 20 points at the 6:51 mark. Jeanae Terry responded after the last basket with her first of back-to-back jumpers, which was followed by a Rashunda Jones layup as the Boilermakers went on a 6-0 run of their own.

Michigan State didn't let that success go on for long, as Tory Ozment scored eight of the next ten points for the Spartans, bringing the lead back to 21 at the 3:05 mark of the quarter. Ozment added a three-pointer less than a minute later, followed by another Kimball three as Michigan State remained in control. Ozment enjoyed an offensive outburst in the third quarter, dropping 15 of her 19 points in the period.

Purdue emptied the bench of the final frame, allowing Sophie Swanson and others to see extended minutes to close out the lopsided defeat.

Jeanae Terry led the Boilermakers on the offensive end of the floor, scoring a team-high 14 points in the loss. The majority of her damage was done in the second half, scoring 12 points after the break in the loss. The veteran guard had arguably the best shooting night of her Purdue career, going 7-8 from the field and connecting on several jumpers. Terry also added

Freshman sharpshooter Sophie Swanson also had a strong second half, scoring 12 points in just 16 minutes on 4-8 shooting from three-point range.

Abbey Ellis and Madison Layden both helped keep Purdue in the game in the first 20 minutes, scoring 14 and 9 points respectively in the first half. The typically reliable duo was held scoreless in the second half as the Boilermakers found themselves out of the game.

As a team, Purdue shot a respectable 44% from the field and 40% from three-point range, but were unable to show much defensively as Michigan State had its biggest point total since a 98-point outing in a win over Penn State in late December.

The Boilermakers' struggles taking care of the basketball also extended into the second half, surrendering 20 turnovers to the advantageous Spartans, who scored 28 points off of those miscues.

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