DAYTON, Ohio – The Purdue women’s basketball team used a nine-point run at the start of the fourth quarter to pull away to a 67-59 win on the road Friday night at Dayton. The Boilermakers knocked down 13-of-18 free throw attempts over the final 10 minutes to move to 4-3 on the year.
Abbey Ellis finished with a game-high 21 points for her second 20-point performance of the season. The Australian made a pair of 3-pointers and went 8-of-10 at the line including six makes in the final frame.
The Boilermakers were 7-of-15 from behind the arc, 16-of-21 from the line and shot 40% from the field in the win.
Purdue held Dayton (4-4) to 34.7% shooting from the floor, while the hosts attempted just five free throws all night. The Boilermakers held their fifth opponent to 60 or fewer points this year.
Madison Layden made a trio of triples and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the stripe to finish with 13 points. Caitlyn Harper added 13 on a 6-of-10 shooting night. Mary Ashley Stevenson added a productive night with eight points and seven rebounds.
The Boilermakers connected early from distance making their first four attempts in the first. Ellis paced Purdue with eight points in the opening frame. Purdue built up a 14-2 lead over the opening 3:35 before holding a 24-15 advantage at the end of the frame.
Purdue’s hot shooting cooled off in the second with 5-of-15 mark from the floor with one triple. Five different players scored in the period. The Boilermakers forced 10 turnovers and kept Dayton (4-4,) to just 33.3% shooting over the opening 20 minutes. Purdue led 35-27 at the break.
Neither side found much of a rhythm out of halftime 10 combined turnovers. Dayton cut the gap down to a two-possession game on three separate occasions, but Harper and Stevenson stymied the momentum with layups through contact. Rashunda Jones sprinted the full length of the court to score at the buzzer to give Purdue a 44-38 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Harper quickly swung the momentum to Purdue’s side in the fourth with back-to-back baskets inside to kickstart a 9-0 run to make it a 15-point advantage. After Dayton scored five straight, Jeanae Terry hit Ellis in the corner for an open 3-pointer. Layden connected on a triple with 3:43 to go for the Boilermakers’ final made field goal of the night. Purdue scored its final seven points at the line.
NOTES
• Dayton leads the all-time series 8-6.
• The Boilermakers have scored a combined 59 points in the first quarter of their last two games.
• Purdue is now 21-2 when holding an opponent to 60 points or fewer under head coach Katie Gearlds.
• With four assists, Jeanae Terry recorded her 412th helper at Purdue, moving her past Ukari Figgs for 11th on the program charts.
• Madison Layden moved into 12th on Purdue’s career 3-point chart with her 158th triple tonight.
• Dayton won the rebounding battle 45-40.
• Rashunda Jones finished with seven points and three assists in 19 minutes off the bench.
• The Boilermakers tallied 30 points in the paint for the fourth time this season.
• Purdue set a season high with eight steals.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will play their second of two games in three days on Sunday when they host Valparaiso at Mackey Arena for a 2 p.m. tip on B1G+.
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