Purdue Falls to Indiana, Eliminated from 2025 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament

Purdue had some runs on Sunday at Mackey Arena, but it wasn't enough to overcome an early double-digit deficit to Indiana, falling 77-57 to the Hoosiers.

Purdue Boilermakers guard Rashunda Jones passes the ball while being defended by Indiana Hoosiers forward Karoline Striplin | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A rocky start put Purdue behind the 8-ball early in Sunday's game against Indiana and the Boilermakers were never able to recover, falling 77-57 at Mackey Arena on Senior Day. The loss also eliminated Purdue from a trip to Indianapolis to play in the 2025 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Boilers started the game off knocking down their first two 3-pointers, getting buckets from McKenna Layden and Destini Lombard to open with a 6-2 lead. But Indiana really got things rolling after that, outscoring Purdue 22-3 and taking a 24-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Purdue was able to cut that deficit to nine points in the second quarter at 30-21 with 3:30 to play in the half. Once again, though, the Hoosiers finished the quarter strong and owned a 39-24 lead at halftime.

After trailing by as many as 19 points early in the third quarter, Purdue put together a 9-0 run, fueled by Lana McCarthy, Sophie Swanson and Lombard to make the score 52-42 at the 4:07 mark in the game. But that was the last push the Boilers would make.

Indiana was held to just 14 points in the fourth quarter, but it was more than enough to leave West Lafayette with a win.

McCarthy led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds, Swanson also scored 11 points. Rashunda Jones ended the night with nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

Entering Sunday's game, Purdue could've secured a spot in the Big Ten Tournament with a win over Indiana. The Boilermakers could have also earned a spot with a Penn State win over Rutgers. However, the Scarlet Knights defeated the Nittany Lions 75-70.

Purdue will be one of three teams that will not participate in this year's event.