Purdue WBB Helps Big Ten Tournament Chances With 75-60 Win Over Northwestern

At this point in the season, every game is critical for Purdue as it tries to secure a spot in the top-15 of the Big Ten standings and make the trip to Indianapolis next month for the Big Ten Tournament. Wednesday night's 75-60 victory over Northwestern was a step forward in reaching that goal.

Four different Boilermakers reached double figures on Wednesday night, with Rashunda Jones, Sophie Swanson and Kendall Puryear all scoring 14 points. Ella Collier added 13.

Things started off a little slow for Purdue, trailing Northwestern 19-15 after the first quarter. At the midway point of the second quarter, the Boilers found themselves trailing 26-23, but a bucket by Puryear sparked a run. They would go on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes and took a 35-31 advantage into the locker room.

Purdue extended its lead in the third quarter, scoring the first 10 points and taking a 45-31 advantage with 6:23 to play. The Wildcats were able to close the gap to single digits twice in the fourth quarter, but both times the Boilers responded.

"I thought we did a good job of executing what we called," coach Katie Gearlds said. "Every time we needed a bucket, we executed what was called and then stepped up and made the shots."

The Boilermakers had trouble containing Northwestern's Taylor Williams, who scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the game. But a big key for Purdue's win was keeping the other top-two scorers — Caileigh Walsh and and Melannie Daley — in check.

Walsh and Daley entered the game both averaging more than 11.0 points per game. On Wednesday night, the duo combined for 11 points.

"(Walsh) had 26 on us in the Big Ten Tournament (last year), but in our game at their place, we did a really good job on her," Gearlds said. "We wanted to make sure nobody got more than their average. She was at the top of that list. Obviously, Taylor Williams had a game and (Carolina) Lau got it going.

"I thought if we could take her out of it — a lot of that was making her play defense ... You make those kids play defense. I know from experience, when you just score the basketball and (don't have) to play defense, it makes for a rough night on the other end."

Purdue improved to 2-11 in Big Ten play with Wednesday night's victory. The Boilermakers are currently in a tie for 14th place in the standings, along with Rutgers — though the Scarlet Knights own the tiebreaker.

They're going to need to get as many wins as possible to help their cause in earning a trip to the Big Ten Tournament. It continues on Saturday, as Purdue has a date with in-state rival Indiana in Bloomington.

Gearlds says her team will continue to take a day-by-day approach as the Boilers prepare for the final five games.

"For us, it's just trying to get better every single day. That was the message after Rutgers and it's the message for tomorrow," she said. "Another opportunity for us to take advantage of two days to get better and see if we can put ourselves in a position to be competitive and find a way to beat those guys."

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