Women's Basketball: Nebraska 71, Purdue 64
Purdue women's basketball dropped another Big Ten matchup Wednesday night after a 71-64 loss to Nebraska at home.
Katie Gearlds and the Boilermakers fall to 12-6 overall and 3-5 during conference play. After starting the season 10-2, Purdue has lost four of its last six games.
Purdue got things rolling early in Mackey Arena and jumped out to an 11-3 lead less than four minutes into the game. Senior guard Abbey Ellis continued her hot stretch as she had 7 of Purdue's first 11 points.
The Cornhuskers buckled down defensively and turned things around by going on a 10-0 run to take back the lead at the 3:43 mark of the first quarter.
After Abbey Ellis knocked down a three to give the Boilermakers a three point lead, Purdue was held scoreless for the final 2:06 of the first quarter. Aside from Ellis, the Boilermakers went just 2-11 from the field in the opening quarter and found itself down by five heading into the second quarter.
Those struggles crept into the second quarter as Purdue watched Nebraska score six points in less than a minute. Purdue had another scoreless stretch of nearly four minutes before Caitlyn Harper connected on a three.
The Harper bucket took the lid off the basket for the Boilermakers and created some momentum. Abbey Ellis then scored five quick points in the final few minutes of the first half as Purdue took a 31-30 lead into the break.
Ellis and Harper took control of the offense for Purdue in the first half, scoring 24 of the team's 31 points in the first 20 minutes. The rest of the Boilermakers combined for just 7 points on 2-13 shooting from the field.
While the Boilermakers struggled offensively, the defense kept them in the game throughout the first half. Purdue held Nebraska's leading scorer, Jaz Skelley, scoreless in 18 minutes.
Coming out of the break, Purdue carried the late half momentum into the second half. After Abbey Ellis was the go-to option in the first half, Caitlyn Harper started to take over in the third quarter. Harper had 8 points and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line to pace the Boilermakers in scoring.
In the second half, Purdue also began getting contributions from players other than Abbey Ellis and Caitlyn Harper. Jayla Smith scored five points and had two assists in the third quarter, while Ava Learn, Rickie Woltman, and Cassidy Hardin also pitched in.
The Boilermakers carried an eight point lead into the fourth, where they were 19-3 under Katie Gearlds when leading after three quarters coming into tonight's game.
Nebraska had other plans and was able to claw back into the game every time it looked like Purdue was going to take command. Cornhuskers' guard Alexis Markowski kickstarted an 11-2 Nebraska run in the fourth quarter to overcome the eight point deficit and take the lead with less than five minutes left in the game.
Markowski had 13 points on 5-7 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter to outscore Purdue on her own in the fourth quarter, while the Boilermakers were only able to muster 8 points as a team.
With less than 2:30 left in the fourth quarter, Katie Gearlds used two timeouts 6 seconds apart as the Boilermakers' offensive set stalled out. An errant pass didn't let Purdue get a shot up. That was the story of the game for the Boilermakers.
The Cornhuskers made a concerted effort to stop Abbey Ellis in the second half, which paid off. After scoring 17 before halftime, Ellis was held to three points on 1-4 shooting from the field.
Purdue is back at home on Saturday when Minnesota comes to Mackey Arena. It will be an important game for the Boilermakers as the following three opponents, Illinois, Ohio State, and Indiana, are ranked.