Purdue women's basketball saw its lengthy losing streak continue on Saturday in Seattle, falling to Washington 87-58 on Kelsey Plum's jersey retirement night. The Boilermakers suffered their sixth-straight defeat at the hands of the Huskies, who offered their best Plum impressions with an explosive offensive output.
As has been a common thread this season, Purdue fell victim to another slow start against the Huskies in Seattle. Washington sprinted out to a 20-4 lead at the 4:11 mark of the opening frame, which featured nine points from star guard Elle Ladine.
Katie Gearlds was forced to burn two timeouts in the first six minutes of the game to try and stop the bleeding as the game got away from her Boilermakers early.
Destini Lombard got a couple of shots to fall, but the Huskies had responses for each, closing out the first ten minutes with a 27-9 advantage. The tandem of Ladine and Sayvia Sellers combined for 17 points in the quarter, as Washington was 61% from the field and 4-10 from three-point range.
Purdue struggled to get going offensively on the flip side, shooting 30% and having six turnovers.
Washington continued its dominance into the second quarter despite best efforts from Destini Lombard and McKenna Layden, who combined for ten points in the quarter. After getting the deficit down to 13 with 8:05 left in the first half, Washington went on an 11-2 run to get the lead to 22 at the end of the quarter.
Lombard almost singlehandedly kept the Boilermakers somewhat close in the first half, pouring in ten points on 4-8 shooting from the field, but that showing was nowhere near enough to keep pace with the Huskies. Purdue was just 36% from the field in the opening 20 minutes and couldn't buy a stop.
The third quarter is when the wheels really fell off for the Boilermakers, as Washington inched further and further away from Katie Gearlds and company to start the second half. Despite an uptick in offensive output for Purdue, scoring 19 in the third quarter, Washington stayed on pace with 26 in the frame.
Seniors Destini Lombard and Ella Collier paced the group during the quarter, combining for 15 points on 6-7 shooting from the field, including a pair of triples.
Washington used one final charge in the fourth quarter to add insult to injury, going on a 7-0 run to push the lead to 33 with 3:24 to play. A Jordyn Poole triple in the closing seconds was the only thing that kept Purdue from suffering its fifth 30-point loss of the season.
Purdue's offensive woes have been well documented, but the defensive troubles continue to foil plans of winning for the Boilermakers. They drop further into the cellar of the conference in scoring defense, where they came into Saturday giving up a Big Ten-worst 73.4 points per game.
It has also been nearly a month since Purdue has eclipsed more than 60 points in a game, dating back to an 84-63 loss to Iowa on December 29th.
On the heels of back-to-back poor showings, Destini Lombard returned to her role as Purdue's go-to option offensively. The fifth-year guard led the Boilermakers with a team-high 17 points, connecting on 7-11 field goal attempts.
Fellow transfer veteran Ella Collier produced a bounce back performance, breaking into double-figures for the first time since the Indiana State game on December 21st. Collier finished with 15 points on the day after having just two total points in Purdue's last three games.
McKenna Layden continued her strong play of late, having eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Layden is averaging 8.5 points and eight rebounds, coming into her own as a sophomore.
Purdue's front court was largely held in check outside of Layden, as Lana McCarthy, Reagan Bass and Kendall Puryear combined for just nine points and five rebounds in the loss.
Freshman guard Jordyn Poole saw extended action for the first time since the Michigan game and tied a career-high with seven points on 3-8 shooting, as well as three assists.
The latest loss for Purdue was the sixth in a row, leaving Katie Gearlds and company winless to start 2025, as the skid dates back to December 21st, which will be just over a month from their next opportunity.
The Boilermakers will once again look to rally the troops and get back in the win column, returning back to West Lafayette to face No. 4 USC on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena.
