Women's basketball - Purdue falls to Florida 52-49 in the Bahamas

Purdue women's basketball had its two-game winning streak snapped on Monday, falling short in a defensive battle with Florida in the 2023 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in the Bahamas. The Boilermakers dropped to 2-2 on the season after picking up wins over Southern and Texas A&M on the heels of a lopsided defeat to UCLA to open the season.

Offense was a struggle to kick things off in the Bahamas on Monday evening. Purdue got on the board at the 8:23 mark of the first quarter with a Mary Ashley Stevenson layup, followed by another layup from Caitlyn Harper in the post.

Then came a three minute scoreless stretch for the Boilermakers, which was snapped by a Rashunda Jones jumper with 4:48 to play in the quarter. The Gators weren't much better offensively as the two teams combined to shoot just 4-16 through the first five minutes of the game.

Following the Jones bucket, another three minute stretch without points came for the Boilermakers. Caitlyn Harper snapped that skid at the 1:56 mark of the first quarter. Harper was effective in the early going despite going up against the 6'6" Ra Shaya Kyle in the post.

The Gators briefly took advantage of the Boilermakers' scoring drought during that time, going on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to as much as seven with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter.

Florida got going in the latter half of the first quarter, behind a pair of threes from Leilani Correa and Jeriah Warren. That was the big difference in the opening ten minutes, as Florida went 2-4 from beyond the arc while the Boilermakers missed all eight of their attempts from downtown.

Purdue also had five turnovers in the opening frame, which was a far cry from the nine total turnovers in the win against Texas A&M on Thursday night.

Abbey Ellis sank a pair of three throws in the final minute to shrink the gap to just four heading into the second quarter, where the Gators took a 14-10 lead.

The offensive struggles in the first quarter did not subside in the next ten minutes for the Boilermakers, however. Junior Jayla Smith had her first of two buckets in the second quarter in the opening minute, both coming on drives to the basket.

Florida immediately bounced back with a 5-0 spirt behind a three from Alberte Rimdal and a jumper from Ra Shaya Kyle, giving the Gators a 19-12 advantage less than two minutes into the quarter.

Purdue then went back inside to Caitlyn Harper, who got two more scores in the paint, cutting the deficit to four at the halfway mark of the second quarter. Harper continued her offensive success in the first half of the Texas A&M win, having six points against a tough Florida interior.

The Gators' leading scorer, Aliyah Matharu got in on the action shortly thereafter, scoring four straight for her first points of the game and giving Florida its largest lead of the game to that point at 24-16. Matharu, who entered the game averaging north of 19 points per game, finished with a team-high six in the opening half.

On the heels of a Katie Gearlds timeout, Purdue's spark plug came out of her shell and stole Florida's momentum at the end of the half. Abbey Ellis got her first field goal attempt to drop with just under two minutes to play, converting on an acrobatic and-one, followed by the Boilermakers first triple of the game a minute later. That connection snapped a streak of 11 straight misses from beyond the arc for Purdue.

Matharu and Ellis combined to score the final 12 points of the first half, as each team's leading scorer entering the game finally got going.

The Boilermakers finished the first half on a 6-2 run, making it a 26-22 game going into halftime. That scoring output marked Purdue's lowest point total in the first half all season, mustering just 22 points through 20 minutes of game action.

During Purdue's two-game winning streak entering Monday, a third quarter surge played an integral part in the Boilermakers coming out victorious. No such outburst occurred coming out of halftime in the Bahamas... at least to start.

Abbey Ellis did get out to a quick start in the second half, after scoring the last six points for Purdue in the first half, she had the first four on the other side of the break. Those scores were sandwiched between a Laila Reynolds layup and Aliyah Matharu bucket. Leilani Correa then knocked down her second three of the game to kickstart a big run by the Gators.

At the 5:45 mark, Florida got a boost after Mary Ashley Stevenson missed a pair of free throws and Ra Shaya Kyle immediately scored on the other end. Aliyah Matharu then secured a three-point play to cap off an 8-0 run by the Gators to give them a 12 point lead.

That is when the Boilermakers' third quarter surge began. Jayla Smith got the party started with a layup at the 4:32 mark of the quarter, which snowballed into a lengthy run out of Purdue. The Boilermakers went on an 8-0 run over the next minute and 40 seconds with contributions from Ellis, Caitlyn Harper and Smith once again to cap off the spirt.

Ra Shaya Kyle stopped the bleeding for a moment, knocking down two free throws to keep the lead at six with 2:14 to play. Purdue responded once again with another 6-0 run with Jayla Smith reaching double-figures with her fifth drive to the basket on the day to bring the Boilermakers all the way back to tie it at 40 apiece.

Smith has scored just four points across her two appearances this season, but dropped a season-high 11 points on 5-9 shooting in addition to a season-high five rebounds for the Boilermakers. The junior wing was the most aggressive she's been all year and the results turned out to be positive.

Purdue flipped the switched offensively, doing all of its damage inside the arc and going 6-8 from the charity stripe. The Boilermakers have been efficient at the free throw line all year, coming into the game making just north of 80% of their attempts.

Florida took advantage of a defensive lapse from the Boilermakers to take a two point lead into the final frame on a Jeriah Warren layup at the end of the third quarter.

Purdue carried all of the momentum from a big third quarter push into the final frame against the Gators, leaning on some stellar defense in the process.

Mary Ashley Stevenson had been kept quiet through the first three quarters, but got things started in the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws. The freshman forward was just 2-8 from the field for six points, but did produce a team-high six rebounds in the loss.

Stevenson then had a layup at the end of the shot clock wiped off the board after a review as it didn't leave her hands in time, but Caitlyn Harper picked her up by reaching double figures for the fourth time this season.

The Boilermakers locked in defensively, holding Florida to just two points over the first six minutes of the final frame and forcing a pair of turnovers during that time to take a two point lead down the stretch.

The Gators couldn't be held down for long, however. Thanks to three straight scores from Reynolds, Aliyah Mathura and Leilani Correa, Florida regained the lead and expanded it to four with 2:49 to play. Purdue struggled from the field during that stretch, shooting just 25% in the fourth quarter, including 1-8 from three-point range.

With Purdue's back against the wall, Jayla Smith capped off her stellar day with a clutch three in the corner with 1:24 left to make it a one point game.

In the final minute, Purdue fell victim to a questionable non-call in favor of the Gators on a missed jumper by Leilani Correa, who knocked the ball free from McKenna Layden. In an ensuing scramble for possession, Rashunda Jones was then called for a foul. After three additional fouls to get Florida into the bonus, Mathura knocked down both free throws to give the Gators a three point lead.

Purdue had an opportunity to force overtime with 10 seconds remaining, but Abbey Ellis' three-pointer fell short as the Boilermakers fell in their first of two games in the Bahamas. Ellis lead the way with 14 points while going 3-13 on field goals but did knock down all seven of her free throws.

The Boilermakers will look to rebound from Monday's defeat against another SEC opponent, Georgia, on Wednesday evening before heading back to West Lafayette.