Women's Basketball: Cancun Challenge Update
During Thanksgiving week this year, Purdue women's basketball is on a trip down in Mexico for the 2022 Cancun Challenge. The Boilermakers have split their first two games of the week, beating Harvard yesterday before suffering their first loss of the season today to Florida State.
Purdue started the Cancun Challenge off strong with an 85-63 win over Harvard in the first of their three games in Mexico. Harvard was able to stay close in the first quarter, keeping the Boilermaker lead to five. Then, Purdue used a dominant second quarter to open up a 24-point lead going into halftime.
Along with hot shooting from Lasha Petree and Caitlyn Harper, Purdue held Harvard to just 21 first-half points. The Boilermakers forced their opponent to shoot 32.8% for the game and caused 12 turnovers. Katie Gearlds had been making defense a point of emphasis for this team, saying that their offense would be there, but Purdue's identity needs to be on the defensive end of the floor.
It was an offensive clinic by Purdue in the win yesterday, though. Purdue shot 60.7% from the field and 44.4% from the three-point line. They also did a great job spreading the wealth around, finishing the game with 22 assists.
Lasha Petree led the way in the scoring department for Gearlds. The senior transfer scored 23 points on an efficient 9-14 shooting, including 3-5 from three-point range.
Caitlyn Harper and Abbey Ellis were the two other Boilermakers in double figures. Harper scored 15 points on 7-8 shooting, and Ellis had 10 points off the bench for Purdue.
Jeanae Terry also continued her stellar all-around play, with a line of 7 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists in the win.
In their matchup against Florida State today, Purdue dropped their first game of the season by a score of 76-75. The Seminoles were Purdue's biggest test of the season and proved to be too much for the Boilermakers this afternoon.
Purdue struggled shooting from the field and had a tough time dealing with Florida State's defensive pressure. The Boilermakers shot 41.9% from the field as a team. Their three-point shooting, led by Madison Layden and Cassidy Hardin, kept them ahead for much of the game.
An Abbey Ellis three-pointer put Purdue up 7 In the final minute of the third quarter, but Florida State started a 10-0 run that spanned to the 7:22 mark of the fourth quarter.
After starting the fourth quarter with a five point lead, the Boilermakers allowed the Seminoles to take the lead for good with 4:48 left in the game. Purdue made only two field goal attempts in the final five minutes of the game, one of which was a three-pointer Jayla Smith hit when the Boilermakers took the ball out with .5 seconds remaining.
Ta'niya Latson and Makayla Timpson caused a lot of issues for the Purdue defense, especially in the second half. Timpson finished the game with 14 points and 14 rebounds to control the post, while Latson scored a game-high 21 points on 10-17 shooting from the field.
Lasha Petree had her worst shooting performance of the season, shooting 6-19 from the field, but still scored a team-high 15 points in the loss. Madison Layden also scored 15 against the Seminoles and was 5-7 from three-point range.
Abbey Ellis finished in double-figures again with 14 points off the bench for the Boilermakers, and Cassidy Hardin posted 11 first-half points as well.
The Boilermakers had not been in a close game in the fourth quarter this season through five games but found themselves in a fight with Florida State down the stretch today. While they could not sneak out with a victory, this will be a learning moment for them to use moving forward.
With the loss, Purdue moves to 8-2 in Cancun all-time. Their only other loss came in 2016 when they lost to Stanford.
As a part of the round-robin side of the Cancun Challenge, Purdue will face off against Oklahoma State tomorrow afternoon. The Cowboys are 2-0 in Mexico after beating Florida State yesterday and Harvard today. Purdue will have another challenge to overcome after their first setback this year.