Purdue women's basketball dropped another non-conference game on Saturday, falling to No. 16 Kentucky, 82-52 in Mackey Arena.
Kentucky's defense has been one of the best in the nation this season and a concern of Katie Gearlds coming into Saturday. It was warranted, as the Boilermakers were limited to 52, which was their fourth game with under 60 points, all of which were losses.
Purdue shot 35% from the field and was 3-19 from three-point range, with the lone makes coming in the fourth quarter.
Purdue's two leading scorers Destini Lombard and Reagan Bass were stifled against Kentucky's suffocating defense, combining for 7 points on 3-13 shooting from the field. Only Lana McCarthy and Rashunda Jones found consistency on the offensive side, as McCarthy finished with a team-high 12 points on 6-11 shooting, as well as seven rebounds. Jones had six points off the bench, adding five assists to her line as well.
The Boilermakers now fall to 5-5 on the season, including losing four of their last five. Four of their losses this season have come to ranked opponents, falling by an average of 32.7 points in such matchups.
Purdue will look to rally the troops with a trip to Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, followed by its final non-conference matchup against Indiana State next Saturday in Mackey Arena before Big ten play starts at the end of the month.
It was a slow start for both sides on the offensive end, with a defensive battle materialized in the first quarter for a second straight game in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers and Wildcats combined to shoot 3-19 from the field and had eight turnovers over the first seven minutes of Saturday's game, which saw Purdue take an early 4-2 lead.
Purdue then started to get things going, with the help of sophomore guard Rashunda Jones. Jones entered the game for Amiyah Reynolds and immediately made an impact, with a pair of buckets and an assist to Reagan Bass in less than two minutes of game action.
That coincided with Kentucky starting to warm up on the offensive end, however, as the Wildcats matched each of those baskets with one of their own. Freshman forward Kendall Puryear knocked down a jumper with 17 seconds left in the opening frame, giving the Boilermakers a 12-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
Purdue got the lead up to a game-high six with a Mahri Petree layup to start the second quarter before Kentucky began imposing its will.
Georgia Amoore orchestrated the charge for the Wildcats, scoring nine points in the quarter, where she crossed the 2,000-point threshold at the expense of the Boilermakers. Amoore cut the Purdue lead to just one at the 8:58 mark before Reagan Bass responded with a layup and later a free throw to make it a 17-13 lead for the Boilermakers.
After the fifth-year senior gave Purdue a cushion, the Wildcats ripped it up. Amoore scored seven during a 14-2 scoring run for Kentucky, where it took back the lead and ran with it. Kentucky used the surge to flip the score from 17-13 to 27-19 in favor of the Wildcats.
The Boilermakers had a pair of scoreless droughts that spanned nearly three minutes apiece as they watched Kentucky take a commanding lead. Ella Collier stopped the second drought with a jumper, making it a six point game with 1:10 left in the first half. Kentucky's Clara Strack and Puryear then exchanged buckets before Dazia Lawrence knocked down a three to give Kentucky a 32-23 lead heading into the break.
Purdue shot just 35% from the field in the second quarter, while the Wildcats shot 45% and added five second chance points on five offensive rebounds. There was a rather large discrepancy in threes as well, as Kentucky knocked down a trio from long range, while the Boilermakers were 0-5 in the first half.
Purdue looked to chip away at the deficit to start the third quarter, with a layup by Lana McCarthy and four points from Amiyah Reynolds to cut it to a six-point game at the 7:05 mark of the quarter.
The Boilermakers and Wildcats exchanged buckets twice, keeping the deficit at six before the Wildcats started to run away with things again. After Lana McCarthy's jumper at the 5:24 mark, Strack and Amoore went on a brief 5-0 run to give Kentucky a 44-33 lead with 4:48 left in the quarter.
The onslaught continued after the media timeout, with Strack getting another layup to fall, followed by a transition three by Amelia Hassett. The extended 10-0 ran pushed Purdue's deficit to 16 with less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter and serving as what turned out to be the dagger for the Boilermakers.
Kentucky wound up extended the run further, to 13-0, behind three free throws from Amelia Hassett to make it a 52-33 game heading into the final frame. The Boilermakers did not score over the final 5:24 of the third quarter, shooting just 21% from the field.
Purdue snapped the 6+ minute drought with a put back layup by Lana McCarthy, which was followed by another three from Dazia Lawrence to push it to a 20-point lead for the Wildcats. The Boilermakers had to wait over 30 minutes for their first triple to fall, which came via Sophie Swanson with 8:31 to play.
Kentucky was able to coast to the easy victory in Mackey Arena, as Purdue's struggles continued to the final buzzer.
