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Madison Layden-Zay Makes Purdue History in Upset Win Over No. 23 Washington

With a 19-point performance against No. 23 Washington, Madison Layden-Zay shot her way into the Purdue women's basketball record books.
Dustin Schutte|
Purdue Fifth Year Madison Layden-Zay (33) leads the break during
Purdue Fifth Year Madison Layden-Zay (33) leads the break during | Chad Krockover / Special to the Journal & Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Purdue Boilermakers

There is a lot of history and tradition associated with Purdue women's basketball program. When it comes to three-point shooting, though, Madison Layden-Zay is in a category of her own.

On Sunday afternoon, Layden-Zay knocked down four three-pointers in a 78-72 win over No. 23 Washington, making her Purdue's new all-time three-point leader. She has now made 246 career three-pointers, breaking the previous mark of 244, set by Karissa McLaughlin.

Layden-Zay entered Sunday's game needing two three-pointers to tie the record and three to break it. Purdue needed every single one of her triples in order to get a win over Washington, beating the Huskies in overtime.

The fifth-year senior finished the game with 19 points, making 4-of-11 shots from three-point range.

Entering Sunday's game against Washington, Layden-Zay was Purdue's third-leading scorer, averaging 10.4 points per contest. She was shooting the three-ball at a 40.9% clip.

Layden-Zay has made at least 34 shots from long range every season since joining Purdue in the 2020-21 campaign. She made 45 triples as a freshman and followed it up with 63 in her sophomore season. As a junior, she made just 34, but responded by making a career-high 64 threes in her senior year.

This season, the fifth-year senior is up to 40 made shots from long range.

What Layden-Zay said about breaking the record

Wearing a crown in the postgame press conference, Layden-Zay was happy to become Purdue's new three-point leader on Sunday. What made it even better, though, was the fact that it happened in a win.

"Obviously, really cool, really special, but I think it's even more special that we did it with a win today," Layden-Zay said after the game. "I feel like, for me, that's really all that matters. I'm just so happy that we won, stuck it out. Like you said, we were down eight for a second, but I think our defense really fueled our offense, we stuck together, and made big plays at the end."

Layden-Zay and the Boilermakers have now won back-to-back games, defeating Wisconsin earlier in the week. They improved to 2-4 in Big Ten play and are 10-7 overall.

"It definitely feels better to get the win," Layden-Zay said. "Moving forward, I think we just want to keep winning. That needs to be our main goal."

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Related stories on Purdue women's basketball

PURDUE BEATS NO. 23 WASHINGTON: Purdue overcame a nine-point deficit in the first quarter and came back to defeat No. 23 Washington at Mackey Arena on Sunday afternoon. CLICK HERE

PURDUE GETS BIG TEN WIN OVER WISCONSIN: Purdue went 12-of-20 from three-point range and picked up a 75-67 win over Wisconsin for its first Big Ten win of the season. CLICK HERE

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Dustin Schutte
DUSTIN SCHUTTE

Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.

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