Women's basketball - Purdue's upset bid of No. 16 Indiana falls short

Purdue women's basketball's upset bid of No. 16 Indiana fell short on Sunday afternoon as the Boilermakers lost 74-68 to the Hoosiers. Indiana extended its winning streak to ten straight in the annual rivalry after Sunday's clash between the in-state foes and retained the Barn Burner Trophy.

Katie Gearlds and the Boilermakers looked poised to snap their three-game losing streak in Mackey Arena, but have now dropped four straight. Purdue sits at 9-9 on the season overall and fall to 2-5 in conference play with the defeat.

Purdue looked like one of the top teams in the Big Ten over the first ten minutes of Sunday's loss, and at points in the second half, but that magic ran out by the end of the fourth quarter. There were several opportunities for the Boilermakers to spring what could have been a season-defining upset win over their arch rivals, but the Hoosiers proved to be too much.

It will look to turn things around next time out on the road against Michigan State on Wednesday evening.

One of Indiana's veteran leaders and top scorers Sydney Parrish was held out of Sunday's game after appearing in Mackey Arena with a walking boot. The backcourt trio of Chloe Moore-McNeil, Yarden Garzon and Sara Scalia gave Purdue fits all afternoon, especially with their three-point shooting.

The trio combined for 57 points, including 14 of Indiana's 15 made three-pointers in the Boilermakers' loss. Moore-McNeil and Scalia both scored 20 points, while Garzon chipped in 17 points. Star forward and All-Big Ten performer Mackenzie Holmes also gave the Boilermakers all they could handle in what was her final game at Mackey Arena. Holmes was 6-7 from the field for 15 points and added six rebounds.

Purdue had its chances to take advantage of Indiana being slightly shorthanded, but the Hoosiers' core stepped up in Parrish's absence.

Defense was optional in the first quarter of the Barn Burner Trophy game, as both sides were flaming hot offensively in the early going.

Indiana connected on its first four attempts from beyond the arc in enemy territory, including two from Sara Scalia, while Purdue was also firing on all cylinders in the first three minutes. After the second Scalia three pointer, Madison Layden and Caitlyn Harper both knocked down threes of their own to give the Boilermakers a 12-9 lead.

The Hoosiers responded with a quick 6-0 run of their own, which including a three-point play from All-Big Ten forward Mackenzie Holmes. Mackey Arena then came alive during another surge out of Purdue, which saw the Boilermakers go on a 14-2 run over nearly four minutes of game action. That stretch gave Purdue a 26-17 lead at the 1:18 mark of the first quarter.

Purdue had arguably its strongest quarter of the season, starting 9-10 on field goals and limiting itself to three turnovers in the first ten minutes. Coinciding with the Boilermakers' sharpshooting early, Indiana did not have a single rebound until the 35 second mark of the first quarter as Purdue dominated on the glass in the opening frame, outpacing the Hoosiers 11-1 on the boards.

Indiana's Yarden Garzon stopped the bleeding with a 5-0 run by herself before freshman guard Rashunda Jones came up with a three-point play to close the first quarter and give the Boilermakers a 29-22 advantage after the opening frame.

After Mary Ashley Stevenson extended the lead back to nine in the opening minute of the second quarter, Indiana began imposing its will. The went on a 6-0 run over a 22 second span to cut the Boilermakers' advantage to three at the 8:17 mark of the second quarter.

On the heels of arguably its best quarter of the season, Purdue's offensive success came back down to Earth, shooting just 27% from the field in the second quarter. That dip in production gave Indiana an opening, which it took advantage of.

Sara Scalia helped Indiana regain the lead at the 4:33 mark of the quarter thanks to her fourth three of the half. Jeanae Terry got a layup to fall just over a minute later, giving the Boilermakers the lead before things flipped once more to close out the half on a Chloe Moore-McNeil three with less than a minute to play.

The Hoosiers also flipped the script in the rebounding department, beating Purdue 12-7 on the boards in the second quarter.

Indiana's bread and butter, as it has been all season long, was the three-point shot. The Hoosiers went 9-12 from deep in the first half, which held off the upset-minded Boilermakers going into the break.

Purdue was led in the first half by the senior duo of Madison Layden and Caitlyn Harper, who combined for 17 points on 6-7 shooting from the field and 3-4 from three-point range in the first half.

While Indiana opened the second half with the momentum out of the break, the Boilermakers had a run in them early in the third quarter. After a Chloe Moore-McNeil jumper, Mary Ashley Stevenson, Caitlyn Harper and Abbey Ellis contributed to Purdue's 7-0 run to take a 44-41 lead with 7:11 left in the period.

Moore-Neil then kickstarted another surge for the Hoosiers, scoring five straight, followed by another Garzon three and a Mackenzie Holmes layup to help Indiana take a 51-44 advantage and cap off a 10-0 run. Purdue went nearly fives minutes without points during the stretch, which was stopped after Caitlyn Harper hit three free throws to steady the ship for Purdue.

Rashunda Jones then got things going down the stretch, converting on a contested layup before Madison Layden knocked down a jumper with 40 seconds to play in the quarter. Jones then got a 35 footer to fall as time expired in the third quarter to gives Purdue the lead heading into the final frame.

Despite having six turnovers and shooting 2-7 from beyond the arc, Purdue had a third quarter surge in them as the upset bid began to look more and more possible.

Facing a massive upset, Indiana's heavy-hitters came to play when it mattered most. Sara Scalia got the scoring going by connecting on her fifth three-pointer of the day to kick off the fourth quarter. That was followed up by a pair of buckets courtesy of Mackenzie Holmes and two Moore McNeil free throws as the Hoosiers took a 61-56 lead at the 6:27 mark of the final frame.

After being outscored 10-2 over the first 3:33 of the fourth quarter, Purdue found its stride once again. The Boilermakers got things going offensively behind Caitlyn Harper and Mary Ashley Stevenson, but that uptick in output was negated by the sharpshooting of the Hoosiers. Moore-McNeil and Yarden Garzon both knocked down threes, with the former giving Indiana a 69-63 advantage with just over four minutes to play.

Purdue's struggles came back to bite them down the stretch, going without a field goal for almost four minutes while Sara Scalia extended the Hoosiers lead to 10 with just over a minute to go in the game.

Indiana bled out the clock in the final minute to retain the Barn Burner Trophy and hand Purdue its fourth-straight defeat.