Women's basketball: Purdue advances in BTT, beats Northwestern 78-72
Purdue women's basketball survived and advanced in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday evening, notching a 78-72 victory over Northwestern in the 12/13 game in Minneapolis. The Boilermakers used a second half surge to secure at least one win in the Big Ten Tournament for the second straight year.
Katie Gearlds and company are now set to face off with fifth seed Nebraska tomorrow around 3:00 p.m. ET, who swept the Boilermakers during the regular season, winning both game by double digits.
The women's Big Ten Tournament got off to a roaring start in the Target Center as Purdue and Northwestern were both shooting the lights out in the first quarter, both sides starting the game shooting 75% from the field.
Purdue had the upper hand early on, jumping out to a 14-9 lead at the 4:59 mark of the first quarter. Caleigh Walsh and the Wildcats had a response up their sleeves, however. Northwestern put together an 8-0 to flip the score and take a 17-14 lead less than three minutes after Purdue's largest lead of the first half.
The junior forward Walsh was key in Northwestern's charge, scoring 12 points in the first quarter, while Melannie Daley also chipped in with six points.
The Boilermakers halted Northwestern's run in the final two minutes of the quarter after buckers by Rashunda Jones and Mary Ashley Stevenson, but the Wildcats took a 20-18 lead into the second quarter.
Abbey Ellis and Jeanae Terry led the way for the Boilermakers, combining for nine points in the opening frame, which saw Purdue shoot 50% from the field.
Purdue used the charity stripe to take back the lead early in the second quarter, hitting six free throws to go along with a Mary Ashley Stevenson layup, while outscoring Northwestern 8-2 in the opening four minutes.
After falling behind by four, the Wildcats used another run to flip the script once again in Minneapolis. Northwestern outscored Purdue 14-6 across the final five minutes of the first half.
Terry, Ellis and Mary Ashley Stevenson all scored seven points in the first half, and Madison Layden added a pair of three-pointers for six points heading into the break. Purdue shot just 35% to Northwestern's 50% from the field, but came away with 10 turnovers to help make up the gap.
Out of the break, Northwestern used a strong start to the third quarter to build a commanding lead over the Boilermakers behind its two star players. Caleigh Walsh and Melannie Daley continued tormenting Purdue, combining to score the first ten points of the second half for the Wildcats, and helping Northwestern take a 49-37 lead at the 4:33 mark of the quarter.
Purdue's backcourt tandem of Abbey Ellis and Rashunda Jones got things going shortly there after, however. The duo went on a quick 8-0 run in less than 90 seconds to cut the deficit to four. Ellis and Jones combined for 16 of Purdue's 17 points on 6-10 shooting, including 2-2 from three-point range.
Jones capped off the comeback stretch with a three point play with 25 seconds left in the third quarter, as Northwestern clung to a 55-52 lead heading into the final frame.
Funny enough, the fourth quarter started just like the third quarter finished, as Jones finished another three-point play to tie the game at 55-55 less than 30 seconds into the final period. Madison Layden followed that up by knocking down her third three-pointer of the night, handing Purdue its first lead since the middle of the second quarter.
A Northwestern free throw briefly stopped the bleeding before the Boilermakers sprinted out to another 5-0 run behind four points from Abbey Ellis, getting the lead up to seven with less than six minutes to play.
The Wildcats cut the Purdue lead to four with a Caleigh Walsh three-point play before Rashunda Jones converted her third and-one of the second half in quick succession. The rookie guard then added another layup to extend the Boilermakers' lead to a then game-high nine with 2:32 to play.
Purdue, outscoring the Wildcats 26-17 in the fourth quarter, was able ice the first round victory with free throws in the final 90 seconds, advancing to play Nebraska tomorrow in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Senior guard Abbey Ellis' recent tear continued into the Big Ten Tournament, as the Aussie dropped a team-high 25 points on 7-18 shooting, and added a season-high ten rebounds for good measure. It was the first double-double of the year for Purdue's leading scorer. Ellis has now scored 20+ points in four of the last five games of her Purdue career.
Rashunda Jones has also come on strong late in the season, All-B1G Freshman team member is averaging 17.5 points over her last two games against Michigan and Northwestern. She also notched back-to-back games in double-figures for the third time this season.
Madison Layden was the only other Boilermaker in double-figures, scoring 11 points on 3-9 shooting from three-point range. The well-rounded Jeanae Terry also had a strong night at the office, hauling in 16 rebounds to go along with six assists and eight points in the victory.