Purdue Women’s Basketball Scorches Nets, Tops PSU 88-73
The Boilermakers broke a 35-year old school record Sunday
#BOILERNOTES
- Purdue’s 73.5 percent field goal percentage (36-49) is the best single-game performance in program history, second-best ever by a Big Ten Conference team and best-ever in Big Ten Conference play
- The mark is the best by any team in the NCAA this season, topping the mark of 72.2 percent shared by UConn (vs. Tulane) and Radford (vs. Presbyterian)
- Karissa McLaughlin tied Purdue’s freshman single-game assists record, dealing 11, and posted the first freshman double-double since Sam Ostarello had 17 points and 14 rebounds vs. Evansville on Dec. 19, 2009
- McLaughlin’s 78 assists this season are ninth-most in program history by a freshman and are now seven shy of head coach Sharon Versyp’s rookie total (85)
- Senior Andreona Keys dished four assists, becoming the 16th player in program history to deal 300 career helpers
- Sophomore Dominique Oden surpassed 40 3-pointers for the second straight season, becoming the fourth player in program history to hit at least 40 in her first two seasons (Katie Gearlds, Brittany Rayburn, Courtney Moses)
- Purdue is now 8-3 all-time in its annual Pink Zone game
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team put together one of the most impressive shooting performances in NCAA history Sunday, hitting 73.5 percent from the field (36-49) to take care of visiting Penn State 88-73 at Mackey Arena. As the Boilermakers honored those affected by cancer, wearing pink uniforms for their annual Pink Zone game, Purdue raised $2,920 for the Community Cancer Network.
The Boilermakers flat-out just didn’t miss Sunday, paced by the incredibly efficient efforts of sophomores Ae’Rianna Harris and Dominique Oden, who made a combined 21-of-25 from the field. Harris was 12-of-14, scoring a career-high 27 points to go with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Oden drained 9-of-11, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, and dealt a career-most seven assists.
Harris hit her first 10 shots of the game, and when asked about her two misses she quickly recalled both and explained what went wrong both times. The following postgame question went Oden’s way, asking her to recount her two misses. “I don’t remember the misses,” she responded.
Bolstering the sophomores’ efforts was freshman Karissa McLaughlin and senior Andreona Keys, both reaching double-figures in scoring. McLaughlin had 10 points, all coming in the second half, and tied a Purdue freshman record with 11 assists, becoming the first Boilermaker rookie with a double-double since Sam Ostarello in 2009. Keys totaled 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, becoming the 16th player in program history to hit the 300-career assist mark. Sophomore Lamina Cooper returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with illness, coming off the bench to add seven points and five rebounds, going a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor.
The Lady Lions turned in a solid performance, hitting 41.8 percent from the floor and over 40 percent from 3-point range, but just couldn’t keep pace with Purdue’s scoring. Penn State made one push in the third quarter, using an 8-2 spurt to cut the lead to seven, 48-41, with 6:40 left in the frame, but the Boilermakers’ efficiency was just too much, scoring on their next six possessions to reestablish their advantage.
Junior Teniya Page led Penn State with 25 points, while sophomore Jaida Travascio-Green added 15 and sophomore De’Janae Boykin chipped in 13 points and six rebounds. The Lady Lions fall to 13-9 overall and 4-5 in conference play.
Purdue improved to 14-8 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play, winning their seventh straight game at Mackey Arena (4-0 B1G). The Boilermakers go back on the road this week, heading to No. 16 Michigan for a Thursday tip in Ann Arbor, Michigan at 8 p.m. ET.
