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Not many anticipated the shoot-out that happened Saturday afternoon. Purdue and Central Michigan both put up plenty of points... enough to win just about any other game, but Purdue came out on top 109-97. Previously Purdue Women hadn't surpassed the century mark since 2004.
By the end of the first half the Boilermakers were up 51-45 and four players had already reached double figures for Purdue; KK Houser, Whitney Bays, Liza Clemons, and April Wilson. Purdue led by as many as 12 in the first half but the Chippewas used three pointers to cut the margin in half heading into the break.
In the second half Courtney Moses caught fire and joined the scoring frenzy, scoring all 20 of her points in the frame going 6-9 from three. Central Michigan hung around as Purdue was never quite able to get a large lead. Purdue led by 12 at different times but couldn't extend their lead further. Still Central Michigan did not threaten the lead toward the finish. The closest the Chips got was four at the 11:58 mark.
Moses was not the only one hot from outside, the team shot 15-29 behind the arc. The 15 three point field goals match the school record for most in a game. Purdue also impressed from the free throw line going 20-23. Central Michigan shot the ball well in order to prevent Purdue from running away with the game; they were 50% from the field.
Whitney Bays led Purdue with a career-high 24 points. Houser had a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists. Clemons and Moses both had 20 points and April Wilson had 16 to go with 8 assists. Central Michigan was led by Jessica Green with 24. Crystal Bradford, their leading scorer, had been battling the flu and was limited to 25 minutes and 10 points.
Purdue starts conference play on Thursday against Ohio State with a 10-2 record. They face a OSU squad that is 10-6. New coach Kevin McGuff has less talent to work with than his predecessor and his team is picked to finish 9th in the conference.