Purdue women's basketball suffered its first defeat of the season on Sunday night as No. 6 Notre Dame came into Mackey Arena and handed the Boilermakers a 102-58 loss.
The Boilermakers have now lost nine straight games to the Fighting Irish, since taking a 14-5 lead in the series back in 2005. The in-state rivalry was halted, playing just once between 2012 and 2023, but the Fighting Irish resumed their success over the Boilermakers in each of the last two seasons.
Purdue also surrendered 100+ points for the first time since 2021, when the Buckeyes reached the century mark.
It was a slow start for the Boilermakers under the bright lights, starting the game 0-6 from the filed and having two turnovers before Destini Lombard got the lid off the basket with an and-one at the the 6:49 mark of the first quarter. That wasn't before the Fighting Irish jumped out to an early lead, however, as Notre Dame opened the night on a 9-0 run prior to Lombard's first bucket.
That was extended to 18-3 behind preseason All-American Hannah Hidalgo, who had nine points on 3-4 shooting in the first five minutes of the game, getting whatever shot she wanted. Hidalgo and Olivia Miles combined for to outscore Purdue by ten all on their own in the opening ten minutes, and guiding Notre Dame to a 28-7 lead after the first quarter.
The Fighting Irish took advantage of eight Purdue turnovers in the first quarter, as well as a 2-13 shooting clip by the Boilermakers to lead by 21 heading into the second quarter, maintaining that commanding lead for the duration of the night.
Purdue endured a four minute and 18 second scoreless stretch that spanned from the first quarter to the start of the second, but Notre Dame also saw some of its offensive success dry up, only extending the lead by two during that stretch to open the second quarter. It was a stretch, however, that saw the Boilermakers' shooting total dip to just 2-22 on the night.
The Boilermakers were also held without a three-point make until the 5:35 mark of the second quarter, when Ella Collier and Destini Lombard knocked down triples on back-to-back possessions, cutting the lead under 20.
After a Hannah Hidalgo layup, the Boilermakers began finding their shooting stroke. Sophie Swanson knocked down a pair of free throws before Collier and Lombard connected on back-to-back jumpers. That 6-0 cut the lead to 15 and forced Niele Ivey to call timeout with 2:53 left in the first half.
The brief surge by the Boilermakers was just that. Brief. The shots stopped falling and turnover woes began again, allowing the Fighting Irish to go on a 9-0 run of their own to extend the lead to 24 heading into halftime.
The Boilermakers were held to just 23% shooting over the first 20 minutes of play and were outpaced by 22 on boards.
Purdue came out of halftime inspired, at least on the offensive end, connecting on four straight field goal attempts. Again, the brief spurt helped the Boilermakers pick up some momentum offensively, only to be undone by their own mistakes.
After the fourth straight make, a layup by Rashunda Jones, the turnover woes crept back int play. The Boilermakers coughed it up four times in 90 seconds and allowed Notre Dame to go on an 8-0 run to extend the lead back up over 30 at the 5:34 mark of the third quarter.
Notre Dame was able to maintain that advantage and extend it down the stretch of the third quarter, getting the lead up to 36 after Olivia Miles connected on a buzzer-beater from near mid court.
The heave was part of a 15-0 run that expanded Purdue's deficit to 45 with 7:41 to play in the fourth quarter, as Notre Dame ran away with the victory from there.
Purdue's transfer led the way in scoring, serving as the lone three Boilermakers to consistently have success on the offensive end of the floor.
Ella Collier showed off some of the shotmaking ability that Katie Gearlds wanted her to bring from Marian, finishing with 11 points on 4-6 shooting, including 2-3 from three-point range. Destini Lombard also continued her strong start to the season on the offensive end, having 13 points on 5-11 shooting, as well as four steals and five rebounds. Reagan Bass was the only other Boilermaker to reach double-figures, scoring 10, despite shooting just 3-10 from the field.
After their combined 29-point, 11-rebound showing in the season opener earlier this week, the freshman tandem of Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear faced their first bout of adversity at the collegiate level. McCarthy and Puryear both dealt with foul trouble in the first half, going scoreless in a combined 13 minutes. The pair finished with just eight points and eight rebounds between the two.
The Boilermakers finished the day with 22 turnovers, which led to 22 points from the Fighting Irish, who didn't need anymore help in that aspect of the game.
Katie Gearlds will look to rally the troops when Purdue is back in action next against IU Indianapolis on Thursday in Mackey Arena.
