Women's basketball - Purdue snaps two-game skid with 95-57 win over USI

Purdue women's basketball snapped a two-game skid on Sunday afternoon, defeating Southern Indiana 95-57 in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers dropped back-to-back games against Florida and Georgia in the Bahamas to fall to 2-3 on the season, but move back to .500 with the non-conference win over the Screaming Eagles.

After struggling with slow starts to begin the season, Purdue came out on fire against Southern Indiana on Sunday. The Boilermakers score on four of their first five possessions on the day, jumping out to a 9-6 lead.

Madison Layden had another blistering start from the field, similar to her first half output against Southern two weeks ago, scoring the first five points for Purdue and eight in the quarter.

The Screaming Eagles were able to keep pace for most of the first quarter behind 6-10 shooting from the field, and keeping the Purdue lead to six at the 3:57 mark. After Southern Indiana made it a 20-14 lead, the Boilermakers ramped it up on both ends of the floor.

Purdue close the opening frame on a 12-0 run, spurred by a pair of freshmen. McKenna Layden kickstarted things by knocking down her second three-pointer of the season at the 2:39 mark of the quarter, followed by a pair of Rashunda Jones free throws. Less than two minutes later, Jones connected on a triple, as did Layden to close the first ten minutes on a 15-0 run. Jones dropped a team-high eight points, tied with the elder Layden in the first ten minutes.

The opening frame was the best offensive quarter Purdue had put together all season, dropping 35 points on a scorching 80% clip and 6/6 from beyond the arc. It was also the most points in a first quarter and the second-most points in a quarter altogether in program history.

Purdue also assisted on each of the first 12 made baskets on the day, with Jeanae Terry and Abbey Ellis combining for nine assists in the quarter. Purdue ended up taking a 35-14 lead into the second quarter, which was it's largest through ten minutes all season.

After a torrid start offensively and locking in on the defensive end to build a substantial advantage, Purdue fell back down to Earth a bit to close out the first half.

Mary Ashley Stevenson extended the run to 17 straight points for the Boilermakers with a pair of free throws, and after a Southern Indiana layup to break the run, Abbey Ellis converted a three-point play to give Purdue a 40-16 lead at the 7:41 mark of the second quarter.

Southern Indiana's Meredith Riley was a lone bright spot in the first half for the outmatched Eagles, as she score eight straight points in the second quarter to bring the deficit to 20 with 6:09 left in the first half.

Purdue then had another burst in them, as a well-balanced offensive attack from Jones, Jayla Smith, Ellis and Madison Layden went on a 13-4 run to bring the lead to a then game-high 29 with less than four minutes to play. Ellis had one of her patented breakout quarters, dropping nine points on a four minute span for the Boilermakers.

The Screaming Eagles did hold Purdue scoreless for the remainder of the half after Ellis' three-pointer with 3:41 left. An 8-0 run by Southern Indiana down the stretch cut the Purdue advantage to 21 going into the break, 55-34.

Katie Gearlds had three players in double-figures in the first 20 minutes of play, with Ellis (13), Layden (11) and Jones (10) all reaching the threshold. Ellis, while leading the team in scoring, also dropped seven assists in just 13 minutes of action in the first half.

It is nearly a nightly occurrence that Katie Gearlds and Purdue are shot out of a cannon coming out of halftime, as was the case on Sunday afternoon.

Abbey Ellis got the party started with two free throws to start the third quarter, which got the ball rolling for yet another offensive explosion. Madison Layden followed it up with a quick five point run of her own before Ellis scored again, this time on a transition layup.

Purdue then went to the post, as Caitlyn Harper and Mary Ashley Stevenson combined for the last six points of an 18-0 run to start the second half.

Southern Indiana stopped the bleeding momentarily, but it was not for long as Purdue then closed out the quarter on a 7-3 run over the last 2 plus minutes. The run at the end of the quarter also saw scoring from all freshmen, including the first points for Alaina Harper during her Purdue career.

Despite being up 79-41 heading into the final frame, Katie Gearlds left her foot on the gas to start the fourth quarter, with Abbey Ellis once again getting on the board early for her team-high 19th point of the afternoon. She also dished out seven assists and had six rebounds in the victory.

Mary Ashley Stevenson then reached double-figures for the third time this season on a layup. The freshman forward finished with 12 points on 4-5 shooting from the field. Rashunda Jones also enjoyed the return home to Mackey, scoring 16 points on 6-11 shooting and added five rebounds.

Purdue coasted to a 95-57 victory down the stretch behind the youngsters getting some extra minutes in the fourth quarter, which included the first career points from freshman Sophie Swanson. The Boilermakers snapped a two-game losing skid with Sunday's win and will now be off until a trip to Dayton on Friday night.