WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team maintained its perfect record at Mackey Arena this season with a 79-63 win over Indiana State on Wednesday. The Boilermakers have won their last eight games at home and enter the holiday break with a 7-5 mark, after going 7-4 against non-conference opponents.
Abbey Ellis finished one point shy of her Purdue career high, going for a game-best 28 points over 33 minutes of action. The Australian international was 8-of-13 from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers and a 9-of-11 mark at the line. Ellis also finished with three rebounds, four steals and one block.
Mary Ashley Stevenson came within a pair of rebounds of her second double-double this season. The freshman from New York City was an efficient 5-of-9 from the floor for 11 points with eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. Madison Layden joined them in double figures with 11 points on three 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
The Boilermakers shot 47.4% from the field for their fifth game shooting over 45% this year. Purdue connected on 11 of its 3-point attempts and shot an even 50% from behind the arc. Mila Reynolds, Emily Monson and Caitlyn Harper each added a make from distance.
Purdue scored 20 points in each of the first three quarters. Finishing with 20 assists on 27 made field goals, eight different Boilermakers dished out a helper with six players recording multiple assists. The Boilermakers’ defense recorded 19 points on 16 Indiana State (4-6) giveaways.
Purdue started hot in the first quarter making four of their first five shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, to take a 13-3 lead over the first 3:03. The Sycamores countered late in the first closing all the way down to one point at 19-18, before Stevenson hit a mid-range jumper to close the frame. Purdue was 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
The Boilermakers cooled off in the second with just five made field goals, but an 8-of-10 mark at the line in the period helped extend the lead back out to double digits. Emily Monson connected on a 3-pointer with a minute left in the half to slow a Sycamore run and give Purdue a 41-33 lead at the break.
Purdue scored the opening eight points out of halftime with six coming from Ellis. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Swanson extended the gap to 18 points with three minutes to play. Purdue won the period 26-12 and shot 61.1% (11-of-18), as Ellis notched 12 of her points.
Ellis laced another 3-pointer early in the fourth to help Purdue grow the gap to 22 points at 74-52. After Indiana State scored eight in a row, Reynolds connected on her first career 3-pointer to quickly halt any late comeback bid.
NOTES
• Purdue’s win leveled the all-time series at 11-11. Wednesday was just the second meeting between the two clubs this century.
• Wednesday’s crowd was 7,177. It marked the fourth game at Mackey Arena this season with an attendance above 5,000.
• The Voice of the Boilermakers Tim Newton broadcasted his 1,000th women’s basketball game at Purdue. The Boilermakers are 681-319 with Newton on the mic.
• Gearlds now has 25-7 mark against regular season non-conference opponents.
• Purdue’s eight-game home winning streak is the longest by the Boilermakers since the 2012-13 season.
• Emily Monson has recorded 10 assists over her last three games played off the bench.
• Ellis’ 28 points has her within 128 of joining the 1,000-point club as a Boilermaker.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will dive into Big Ten action following the holiday break on Dec. 30 when they host Wisconsin for a 6 p.m. tip on the Big Ten Network.