WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Destini Lombard scored a career-high 20 points and freshman Lana McCarthy posted a double-double as the Purdue women’s basketball team opened its 50th season with an 87-77 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena.
Playing their first official game for the Boilermakers, the six active newcomers (McCarthy, Lombard, Mahri Petree, Reagan Bass, Kendall Puryear and Ella Collier) accounted for 66 points, 28 rebounds and 10 assists.
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TOP STATS
Lana McCarthy became the 15th freshman to start a season opener in the 50 seasons of Purdue Women’s Basketball. Her 18 points and 10 rebounds were the first time a Purdue freshman recorded a double-double in a season opener.
Her 18 points were the third most by a freshman starter in an opener, while her 10 rebounds topped the previous best of seven from Stacey Lovelace (1992-93) and Tiffany Young (1996-97).
McCarthy and fellow freshman post Kendall Puryear (11 points) were efficient. The duo combined for 29 points on 13-of-15 shooting.
Lombard stuffed the stat sheet with her 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. The fifth year added six rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block. It was the seventh time a Boilermaker dropped 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in a game since 2002-03.
The Boilermakers shot 48.6% from the field and connected on five 3-pointers. Purdue tallied 52 points in the paint and turned 15 offensive rebounds into 16 points.
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KEY MOMENTS
• Purdue opened the game on a 12-3 run. McCarthy tallied eight points in the first five minutes of the night. The Boilermakers connected on six of their first 10 shots.
• The Boilermakers held a 23-11 lead after the first quarter behind a 47.8% shooting clip and eight second chance points off seven offensive rebounds. Six different Boilermakers scored in the opening frame.
• The Mastodons trimmed Purdue’s 12-point lead after the first quarter down to four points midway through the second. Lombard countered with the first 3-pointer of the year, before Jones converted a traditional 3-point play.
• The Boilermakers extended the lead back to double digits and held a 12-point advantage at halftime. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Mastodons 23-12 and clipped 49% from the field, shooting 19-39.
• Lombard converted an and-one on Purdue’s opening possession of the third quarter to kickstart a 9-2 run that eventually saw Purdue open up a 20-point advantage midway through the frame.
• The Boilermakers outscored the Mastodons 19-13 in the third, including Collier’s first triple at Purdue to beat the buzzer for the quarter. Purdue led 61-43 in the third.
• The Mastodons rallied in the fourth quarter, scoring 34 points in the period. Purdue Fort Wayne managed to chip the gap all the way down to eight points with 3:25 to play.
• Layups from Lombard and McCarthy kept the gap at 12 points, as Purdue held the guests to just two made field goals for the rest of the game.
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NOTES
• Purdue is now 7-0 against Purdue Fort Wayne
• The Boilermakers are now 3-1 in exhibition games under head coach Katie Gearlds.
• Amiyah Reynolds made her debut for Purdue, scoring three points and grabbing four rebounds in her first official game action in 648 days.
• Wednesday was the 50th time in the Gearlds era that Purdue built up a lead of 10 or more points.
• Sophie Swanson matched her career high with a pair of blocks.
• Despite scoring three points, Ella Collier posted a game-high plus-minus of 14.
• Purdue dished out 18 assists, led by Lombard with five and Rashunda Jones with four.
• All 10 players on the court for the Boilermakers scored and logged 10 minutes or more.
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UP NEXT
Purdue continues its five-game homestand to start the year when it hosts No. 6 Notre Dame on Sunday night at 7 p.m. The Fighting Irish’s first visit to Mackey Arena since 2011 will be televised on FS1.
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