Women's Basketball: Purdue 75, Minnesota 56

Purdue women's basketball returned to its winning ways on Saturday with a 75-56 victory over Minnesota at Mackey Arena.

The Boilermakers were coming off a disappointing loss at home earlier in the week that saw them get outscored 23-8 in the fourth quarter. Purdue responded in a big way to close the week on a high note.

After Purdue started the game shooting 0-4 from the field and a turnover, senior Lasha Petree got the offense going. Petree knocked down two threes 63 seconds apart to open up the scoring for the Boilermakers.

Petree had six combined points in her last three games coming into Saturday and tied that mark less than four minutes into the game.

The first few minutes were a struggle offensively as a team for Purdue. A Jeanae Terry layup with 3:46 left in the quarter kickstarted a 9-0 run for the Boilermakers as they took a 7-point lead into the second quarter.

Although the scoring output was not up to her recent performances, Abbey Ellis was the most impactful player on the floor in the first half. In the first quarter, she out-hustled all five Gopher defenders to secure an offensive rebound and set the tone for the game.

Ellis also had two crafty passes that led to baskets for the Boilermakers during their run and even took a tough charge defensively.

Purdue opened up its lead in a big way in the second quarter. The Boilermakers extended their seven-point lead to as much as 19 before halftime.

Madison Layden hit a three to start a 19-5 run for Purdue to end the quarter. During the run, Rickie Woltman had four points, and Katie Gearlds got contributions from Petree, Ellis, Terry, and Smith as well.

Fifth-year senior Cassidy Hardin hit back-to-back threes halfway through the second quarter to push the Purdue lead from 11 to 15.

The offensive clinic coincided with great defense by the Boilermakers. Purdue held Minnesota to 10 second-quarter points as the Gophers shot 25% from the field and had four turnovers.

Minnesota put the pressure on Purdue to start the second half as they doubled the Boilermakers' point total in the third quarter and cut the deficit down to 9.

Purdue struggled offensively in the quarter, shooting 33% from the field and 0-5 from three-point range. Caitlyn Harper, Jayla Smith, and Rickie Woltman had four points each, while the rest of the team was a combined 0-10.

Minnesota freshman forward Mallory Heyer led the Gophers on the comeback attempt, scoring 8 of her 13 points in the quarter.

Rickie Woltman and Jayla Smith scored the last four points of the quarter to bring the Purdue lead back up to 13. Woltman and Smith came up big off the bench, scoring 10 and 13 points, respectively.

The Gophers threatened the Boilermakers again and hung around for much of the fourth quarter. The teams combined for a nearly three-minute scoreless streak before Purdue began to pull away once and for all.

Lasha Petree and Cassidy Hardin hit threes on back-to-back possessions to bring the Purdue lead back to 15 with 4:05 left to play. That was the back-breaking play for the Gophers as the Boilermakers won the game by 19.

Hardin led the way for the four Boilermakers, who finished the game in double-figures. Petree, Smith, and Woltman joined Hardin in that area.

The Boilermakers improved to 13-6 on the season and 4-5 in Big Ten play. Purdue begins a gauntlet stretch in Big Ten play as they go on the road to play undefeated No. 2 Ohio State and No. 21 Illinois to round out the month of January. Following those two, No. 6 Indiana awaits them the following weekend. The next three games could determine where Purdue is at when March rolls around.