Harris Breaks 1,000, Boilers Fall at Nebraska
The Boilermakers went cold at the wrong time and surrendered a fourth-quarter lead
LINCOLN, Neb. – Despite leading for 34 minutes on the road Sunday at Nebraska, the Purdue women’s basketball team went cold down the stretch and fell to the Huskers 67-61 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Junior Ae’Rianna Harris hit a major milestone, becoming the 34th 1,000-point scorer in Boilermakers history, but the accomplishment came bittersweet as Purdue fell to 16-10 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten play.
Harris finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting, hitting 5-of-6 at the free throw line, to add to six rebounds, three steals and four blocked shots. She’s the 17th junior at Purdue to score 1,000, and joins classmate Dominique Oden to become just the second pair of juniors to hit 1,000 in program history (Katie Gearlds and Erin Lawless in 2005-06).
The Boilermakers took a 48-42 lead into the fourth quarter, coming on the strength of a strong third from sophomore Karissa McLaughlin, who scored seven of her 13 points in the third. Harris had a strong start to the fourth, scoring Purdue’s first six points and putting her squad up 54-46 with 8:32 to play, but the well would run dry for the Boilermakers. Purdue hit just two more shots and one free throw as the Huskers chipped away at the lead and finally took it for good with 1:48 left on a layup by sophomore Kate Cain.
Junior Dominique Oden joined Harris and McLaughlin in double figures, posting 10 points, six rebounds and four assists before fouling out with 43 seconds left. Sophomore Tamara Farquhar added seven points and 14 rebounds, while sophomore Lyndsey Whilby had eight points off the bench.
Nebraska went to the free throw line 28 times Sunday, the most of any Purdue opponent this season, scoring 22 at the stripe. Freshman Leigha Brown posted a career-high 30 points, hitting four triples and 10-of-12 at the free throw line, while the rest of her team was 12-of-38 from the field.
Purdue returns home for a pair of home games this week, hosting Minnesota on Thursday at Mackey Arena and Northwestern on Sunday, with both games airing live on the Big Ten Network and tipping at 6 p.m. ET.
