Purdue WBB Edged Out by No. 8 Maryland 58-55
The Boilermakers fell victim to a fourth-quarter rally from the nation’s No. 8 squad
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team led the nation’s No. 8 team for three quarters at Mackey Arena on Monday, but couldn’t hold off a late rally from Maryland in a 58-55 loss. The Terrapins outscored Purdue 21-12 in the final 10 minutes, using a 10-0 run to start the quarter and surviving a late rally from the Boilermakers as a last-second 3-pointer rattled out as the horn sounded.
The story of the night for the Boilermakers was the play of freshman Kayana Traylor who finished with a career-high 18 points, four 3-pointers, seven assists, three steals, two rebounds and two blocked shots. She hit a clutch 3 at the end of the first half to help put Purdue ahead 29-23 at the half, and then went 4-of-4 with a pair of triples for 10 points in the third quarter as the Boilermakers took a 43-37 edge into the final period.
After Maryland went ahead 47-43 with six minutes to play, Purdue got things going as Traylor fed junior Dominique Oden on the fast break for a bucket at the 4:30 mark and the Boilermakers began jousting with the Terps down the stretch. Maryland junior Stephanie Jones helped her squad maintain their edge, scoring seven of her 16 points in the final four minutes.
Purdue made a final run in the last 30 seconds, cutting the lead to three on three free throws from Oden, 55-52, and then to one, 56-55, on a triple from Traylor with six seconds left. Jones knocked in two final free throws to go ahead by three and the final toss from Purdue freshman Cassidy Hardin was just long, hitting the backboard and rimming out to prevent overtime.
Purdue junior Ae’Rianna Harris posted her 12th double-double of the season, turning in 14 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Oden finished with 12 points, three assists and three steals. The Boilermakers fall to 17-13 overall and 8-9 in conference play with the loss.
Junior Kaila Charles paced Maryland with 20 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out in the last two minutes, and freshman Shakira Austin had six points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Fellow rookie Taylor Mikesell was the only other Terrapin in double figures with 10 points and five rebounds as the Terrapins were held to a season-low in the scoring column. Maryland improved to 25-3 overall and clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season title as they improved to 14-3.
Purdue completes the regular season Sunday at Indiana, tipping off in Bloomington at noon ET, live on the Big Ten Network.