Women's Basketball: Purdue 90, Murray State 61 - Game Recap
Purdue women's basketball moved to 2-0 Sunday afternoon, picking up a 90-61 win over Murray State in Mackey Arena.
The Boilermakers started the game shot out of a cannon, taking an 18-6 lead halfway through the first quarter. Junior Madison Layden scored 7 of the team's first 9 points in the game's first three minutes.
Katie Gearlds said of the fast starts to each quarter, "Don't look at the 40 minute game. Kind of focus in on the first 5 minutes of the quarter. Making sure we won all of those. All of those little 5 minute segments."
After that fast start, Purdue cooled off considerably. Caitlyn Harper hit a layup at the 4:23 mark of the first quarter, then Purdue could only muster 2 points the rest of the period.
The second quarter was more of the same for the Boilermakers, with Lasha Petree leading another solid start to the period. She matched her total output from the season opener with 13 of her team-high 23 points in the first half alone.
Purdue's trend of cooling off later in quarters continued, but Purdue's defense showed up in the first half. The Boilermakers forced eight turnovers and held Murray State to 2-12 shooting from three-point range in the first half. That defensive performance led Purdue to a 40-27 lead into the break.
Purdue came out in the second half and separated themselves from the first minute. The team shot an impressive 69% from the field in the second half and 60% from the three-point line.
After changing turns in the first and second quarters, Lasha Petree and Madison Layden combined for 15 of Purdue's 26 third quarter points. The Boilermakers took a 66-47 lead into the final period.
Caitlyn Harper was the focal point of the Purdue offense to close this game out. She had seven early fourth quarter points to push things well out of reach for the Boilermakers. Harper finished the game with 17 points and 5 rebounds.
They have been a great defensive team in the fourth quarter through two games. In the season opener, they allowed only 8 points to Marshall, and today they held the Racers to 26.7% shooting from the field to close things out.
Offensively, Purdue's balance across the board was on full display today. Petree, Layden, and Harper all took turns being the go-to option. That trio combined for 65 of the Boilermakers' 90 points on the day.
"What are you going to do to stop us? What are you going to take away from us? Whatever you choose, we're going to find a way to counter it." Gearlds said of the balance her team has.
Jeanae Terry put together another rare performance with 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Her double-double in the season opener without points was the first in program history. Now, she's done it in back-to-back games. Terry is averaging 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists through the Boilermakers' first two games.
Purdue cut down on their turnovers compared to the Boilermakers' numbers in that area during the exhibition game and season opener. In those two games, Purdue turned it over 31 times, but today they were able to limit it to 7.
Katie Gearlds was pleased with the assist-to-turnover ratio that helped Purdue put up 90 points today, "25 to 7 is really, really special. That's a number I always like to look at after the game. If we can keep that going I like our chances."
On Thursday, Purdue will be back in action against SIU Edwardsville in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers will look to go 3-0 to start the year in back-to-back seasons under Katie Gearlds.