Purdue women's basketball has long held the advantage over Illinois, holding a 41-5 record against their Big Ten foe from Champaign dating back to the 1999 season. As Purdue struggles through one of the worst seasons in program history, the tides turned in favor of the Illini on Monday night.
The Boilermakers suffered their eighth straight defeat and moved to 0-9 in Big Ten play after a 74-34 loss to Illinois in the State Farm Center. Monday night also marked the sixth 30-point loss of the season for Purdue, adding another frustrating defeat for the now 7-13 Boilermakers.
The turnover bug was alive and well for the Boilermakers in the early going, coughing it up four times in the opening five minutes of play. Illinois took advantage of the ball security woes, turning those turnovers into nine of its first 14 points, building a 14-7 lead at the 4:50 mark of the opening frame. They negated a 4-4 shooting start from the field for Purdue.
Despite a 50% clip from the field by Purdue, Illinois got out to a commanding lead during the latter portion of the first quarter. The charge was led by senior forward Kendall Bostic, who dropped 14 points in the quarter, including a solo 7-0 over the final 1:39, helping the Illini take a 24-11 lead into the second.
The Illini extended that lead to 20 within three minutes of the start of the second quarter, by pushing its run to 15-0 over a five minute stretch. Purdue looked poised for a response briefly, going on a short 7-2 run, before the Illini locked in defensively.
The Boilermakers would go the final 6:59 of the first half without a field goal, scoring just one point on a Rashunda Jones free throw, as Illinois brought its lead back to 21 points heading into halftime.
Purdue was just 35% from the field and 2-10 from three-point range in the first half, while Illinois connected on a 52% clip and knocked down five triples. Only four Boilermakers scored in the opening 20 minutes, with Rashunda Jones leading the way with a team-high seven points on 3-4 shooting from the field.
Illinois only added insult to injury to start the second half, putting together runs of 5-0 and 11-0 to build a 33-point lead at the 3:07 mark of the third quarter. Rashunda Jones and Lana McCarthy were the only two Boilermakers to score in the third quarter, until Destini Lombard knocked down a triple with 1:05 left.
At that point, the Illini had padded its lead enough to coast to a 34-point victory, marking the largest differential for Illinois in the all-time series.
Purdue shot under 30% from the field on the day and failed to eclipse ten points in the final three quarters of the game.
Only Rashunda Jones and Kendall Puryear scored more than five points on the night, with Puryear leading the way with 10 points on 5-12 shooting, while seeing extended action with Lana McCarthy in foul trouble. Jones chipped in nine points on 4-6 shooting from the field, as well as a team-high five assists, as well as three rebounds.
Outside of Puryear, the front court was held in check. Lana McCarthy and Reagan Bass, who was inserted back into the starting lineup, combined for just five points. Illinois stifled leading scorer Destini Lombard in Purdue's loss as well, as the fifth-year guard had a near season-low three points on 1-10 shooting from the field.
On the flip side, Illinois had a quartet in double-figures, led by Kendall Bostic's game-high 17 points, to go along with 11 rebounds. Genesis Bryant, Berry Wallace and Jasmine Brown-Hagger also had double-figures in the rout.
Purdue will return home for another opportunity to snap a growing losing streak when it hosts Nebraska in Mackey Arena on Thursday night.
