Where Does Indiana’s Women’s Basketball Win Streak Over Purdue Rank In The Rivalry?

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Indiana’s 77-57 victory over Purdue on Sunday at Mackey Arena was the 13th straight victory for the Hoosiers in the Barn Burner Trophy series.

Purdue’s last victory in the series was a 56-53 triumph over the Hoosiers at Mackey Arena on Jan. 20, 2019. Before that, Indiana had won three in a row and six of the previous 10 games.

Most Indiana players of recent vintage have never lost to Purdue. Sydney Parrish, in her third season as an Indiana player after she transferred from Oregon, is one of them.

“It's a lot of fun being from Indiana and just being able to say I'm undefeated against Purdue,” Parrish said.

The series flipped once Teri Moren took over as Indiana’s coach in 2014 – Moren once dominated the series from the other side as a Purdue player in the early 1990s.

Where does the Hoosiers’ women’s basketball dominance rate among all of the Indiana-Purdue series?

The women’s basketball streak is impressive, but it’s not even the longest in the series. Purdue’s women’s basketball program was dominant in the 1990s and 2000s, and the Boilermakers won 18 games in a row from 1988-96. Moren was part of that streak and never lost to Indiana as a Purdue player.

That stands as one of the longest streaks in any of the sports that Indiana and Purdue currently compete in, but it’s not the longest.

According to histories available on the Indiana-Purdue series from the media guides of the schools from current sports, Indiana men’s tennis has the longest streak of any sport in the Indiana-Purdue series. The Hoosiers won 30 matches in a row from 1950-81.

Purdue’s longest streak of dominance over Indiana has come in volleyball. The Boilermakers won 24 in a row from 1978-85. Purdue also had a 21-match win streak from 2012-22.

Other streaks in the Indiana-Purdue series:

• Women’s tennis: Indiana won 22 in a row from 1978-96.

• Football: Ties in football complicate matters, but in terms of a pure win streak, Purdue won 10 in a row from 1948-57.

When you factor in tied games, the longest unbeaten run was part of the same win streak. The Boilermakers were unbeaten in 14 games from 1948-61. The teams tied in the 1958 season.

Indiana’s longest win streak in the football series is four wins. The Hoosiers did it twice: 1944-47 and 2013-16.

• Men’s basketball: Indiana won 13 in a row from 1949-55. Purdue’s longest win streak was 12 wins from 1908-14.

• Softball: Indiana won 13 games in a row from 1978-95.

• Men’s soccer: Indiana won 12 in a row from 1973-85 – every match played in the series before Purdue dropped men’s soccer as a varsity sport.

• Baseball: It’s one of the most played series among all of the Indiana-Purdue rivalries, but long streaks have not characterized the series. Indiana won 10 in a row from 1971-77.

• Wrestling: Both teams have had 10 match win streaks. Indiana did it from 1976-83. Purdue did not lose to Indiana from 2013-22. The Hoosiers also had a nine-match win streak with a tie included to go unbeaten from 1962-68.

Related stories on Indiana basketball