Purdue Women’s Basketball Falls at Utah 81-68
The Boilermakers suffered their first loss of the season Monday
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Purdue women’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Monday, falling at Utah 81-68 at the Hunstman Center. The Boilermakers drop to 3-1 on the season, while Utah improved to 3-1 with the win, hitting 43.8 percent from the 3-point arc and 20-of-23 at the free throw line.
The Boilermakers got off to a solid start, building a 14-10 lead over the first five minutes and handling the outstanding size of the Utes. However, a rebounding foul on sophomore Dominique Oden and a technical foul on Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp led to a 12-4 run for Utah to end the quarter with the Boilermakers trailing 22-18. The Utes went on to hit 9-of-14 in the second quarter to build a 45-34 halftime edge behind 17 first-half points from junior forward Megan Huff.
Purdue rallied in the third, slicing the Utah lead down as close as three points, 58-55, on a 3-pointer by Boilermaker freshman Karissa McLaughlin in the closing minutes of the quarter. Utah righted the ship in the last 30 seconds with a 3-pointer and some free throws to push it back to six after 30 minutes, 65-59.
It was all Utah in the final 10 minutes as the Utes opened the period on a 10-2 run and extended their lead to 14 points in the first four minutes. The Boilermakers couldn’t find the bucket in the final quarter, hitting just 4-of-15.
Senior Andreona Keys led Purdue with 16 points and three assists, while freshman Tamara Farquhar scored a career-high 12 points off the bench and grabbed five rebounds. Co-Big Ten Player of the Week Ae’Rianna Harris finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks.
The Boilermakers continue west to Hawaii this week and resume play Friday at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown, facing Southern California in the opening game.