Women's basketball: Purdue falls to Nebraska 77-65 on Alumnae Day
An early lead wasn't enough for Purdue women's basketball to secure a third win in its last four games as the Boilermakers fell to Nebraska at home 77-65 on Saturday evening. The defeat dropped Purdue to 11-14 on the season and 4-10 during Big Ten play.
The Boilermakers have now split their last four outings and have not won back-to-back games since winning three straights in late December and the start of January.
Purdue will be back in action on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena as it looks to avenge its loss to Michigan State against a struggling Spartans squad.
Purdue produced some fireworks in the first quarter of Saturday's clash, having early success on the offensive end.
Madison Layden got the party started, knocking down a three just four seconds into the game. That started an early push that saw the Boilermakers take a quick 7-2 lead over the Huskers less than four minutes in.
The tides turned in favor of the Huskers shortly there after, who took their first lead of the game at the 4:48 mark of the first quarter, holding a 10-9 advantage.
The Boilermakers then put together a strong closing stretch to the quarter, once again getting kickstarted by Madison Layden, but this time a jumper. Layden would add another three while Rashunda Jones scored five in the final 2:13 to help Purdue mount a 13-2 run to close out the first quarter. That surge gave the Boilermakers a 22-12 lead heading into the second quarter.
Layden found her groove in the opening frame, scoring a game-high eight points. Jeanae Terry also found herself nearing double-digit assists for the second straight game in just ten minutes, having seven assists in the first quarter.
It was a different story in the second quarter as Purdue ran out of gas heading into halftime. It took the Huskers less than six minutes to erase the Boilermakers' ten point lead in the second quarter as they put together a 9-2 run at the start of the quarter, followed by a 5-0 run from Jaz Shelley moments later.
Shelley and Logan Nissley both had seven points in the quarter to help the Huskers get back into the game. Alexis Markowski was also a driving force in the comeback, having nine points and 10 rebounds in the first half.
Nebraska closed out the half on a high note to complete the dominating quarter, going on a mini 6-2 run to take a 36-32 lead into halftime.
After shooting 47% from the field in the opening quarter, Purdue's hot shooting fell cold. The Boilermakers connected on just a 30% clip in the second quarter as their lead evaporated.
Madison Layden and Mary Ashley Stevenson both had eight points in the first half while Abbey Ellis and Caitlyn Harper each had four points, but shot a combined 4-13 from the field.
Both teams, who are in the bottom portion of the conference in three-point shooting, stayed on par from beyond the arc, combining for 4-20 shooting from deep.
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An Abbey Ellis three to start the second half looked to be just what the doctor ordered for the Boilermakers and an opportunity to right the ship. That turnaround did not happen, however, as the well ran dry once again for Purdue.
After the three, the Boilermakers missed nine straight field goal attempts and had three turnovers. Nebraska took advantage of Purdue's poor shooting, going on a 12-0 run to take a commanding 13 points lead.
Ellis snapped the run with a pair of free throws before Markowski caught fire. The Huskers' center scored nine straight points, capping off the previous run and started another of her own, to give Nebraska a 53-37 lead with less than three minutes left in the quarter.
The Boilermakers were able to chip away at the lead in the final two minutes, going on a 5-0 run behind free throws from Mary Ashley Stevenson and a three-point play by Abbey Ellis to cut it to a 55-44 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
The pro-Nebraska trend continued in the fourth quarter as the Huskers continued their success and expanded their lead to as much as 17 points in the final frame before coasting to an easy victory.
A trio of Boilermakers scored in double-figures in the defeat, Mary Ashley Stevenson, Abbey Ellis and Madison Layden all reaching double-digits. Ellis led Purdue in scoring with 16 points, which is her most since January 24th.
Layden and Stevenson had 11 and 16 points respectively, both shooting 4-10 from the field, while Layden was the only Boilermakers with more than one three-pointer on the day.
Caitlyn Harper's four game streak of scoring in double-figures came to an end in what was a frustrating outing for the veteran center, having just six points and two rebounds.
Jeanae Terry also flirted with another non-point double-double for a second straight game, posting a line of nine assists, six rebounds and two points.