Purdue Women’s Basketbal Falls at Georgia Tech 68-55
Second quarter sinks Boilermakers on the road
ATLANTA, Georgia – The Purdue women’s basketball team fell at Georgia Tech on Thursday, suffering a 68-55 defeat at McCamish Pavilion in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It was a bittersweet homecoming for Purdue senior Andreona Keys, who posted 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the loss as the Boilermakers drop to 5-3 on the season.
The Boilermakers got off to a solid start, going back-and-forth with the Yellow Jackets and holding an 11-9 edge with three minutes left in the first quarter. However, a banked, buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Georgia Tech senior Elo Edeferikoa started a 10-0 run, and the Boilermakers would go on to miss 13 straight shots as the Yellow Jackets stretched their lead as high as 16 points in the first half and went to the locker room up 33-20.
Purdue got a run going in the second half, axing the lead down to three points, 38-35, with four minutes left in the quarter. Keys led the run, scoring eight quick points, and feeding sophomore Dominique Oden for the last bucket of the spurt, but Purdue would get no closer. Georgia Tech ended the run with a 10-2 run of its own and held the Boilermakers off the rest of the way. Purdue was unable to get any closer than seven in the final quarter, hitting only 33 percent down the stretch.
Keys added four assists to her 20 points, her second straight game with at least 20 for the Boilermakers, and sophomore Ae’Rianna Harris was the only other Purdue player in double figures, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals. Oden had nine points and five rebounds, while freshman Tamara Farquhar added nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Purdue opens a six-game homestand Monday, hosting Ball State at Mackey Arena at 7 p.m. ET.
