Boilers Drop Regular Season Finale: Wisconsin 63, Purdue 62.

Purdue women’s basketball dropped another heartbreaker to Wisconsin, this time in a 63-62 defeat on Senior Day at Mackey Arena.

Similar to their last meeting, Wisconsin used late-game heroics to top the Boilermakers and sneak out of the game with a win. After a Jeanae Terry bucket with 13 seconds left, Halle Douglass responded with the game-winner with just 6 seconds to go. Purdue had another opportunity at the very end, but Jeanae Terry’s jumper was blocked as time expired as the Boilermakers fell.

Wisconsin is just 8-20 on the season but had Purdue’s number this year as they swept the season series. This loss has the sting a bit more, given that it was Senior Day, the regular-season finale, and on the Boilermakers’ home court at Mackey Arena.

Credit to Purdue, as they found themselves down by double digits for much of the first half, and as many as 14 in the third quarter, but found a way to get back into the game. They just were not able to get enough stops down the stretch to steal this one from the Badgers, ending the regular season on a sour note.

On Senior Day, Purdue honored four players in their final home game. Brooke Moore, Ajah Stallings, Rokia Doumbia, and Nyagoa Gony, all got the start today and went through Senior Day festivities to honor their time playing for the Boilermakers. Unfortunately for Purdue, they could not gift them a win to ride off into the sunset with.

Purdue was dominated for much of the game, leading for just 3:24 on the day compared to 35+ minutes by the Badgers. The first half told the story as the Boilermakers struggled to get much going offensively and shot 19% in the first quarter. It took Purdue a while to dig themselves out of that hole, but eventually, they tied it up early on in the fourth quarter. Although this team has struggled, someone cannot say they don’t fight till the bitter end. Which is an admirable trait to have if nothing else.

Looking ahead for Purdue, the Big Ten Tournament will be next up. With Purdue finishing 7-11 in conference play, they will be the 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and face off against Michigan State in the 8/9 game on Thursday next week. The Boilermakers tied with Minnesota at 7-11, but the Boilermakers hold the tiebreaker after beating the Gophers in January. Official dates and times will come later tonight after the rest of the Big Ten slate finishes up and the bracket is finalized. Today was a tough end to the regular season, but there is still time for the Boilers to make some noise in March.