5-1 Lady Boilers Face Duke Next

Purdue left Mexico with a win and a loss. After Purdue dropped their game against Stanford they were able to regroup and take out the Horned Frogs of TCU. Purdue won 75-68 despite being down for the entire first half. Courtney Moses provided the spark for Purdue in the second half as 18 of her 22 points came in the second half.

Purdue’s cold shooting prevented them from overtaking TCU early in the game. They warmed up as the first half wore on. They closed the gap to one at the break. Ashley Morrissette and Liza Clemons provided offense for the Boilers with seven and nine respectively. TCU was able to take care of the ball and extend possessions with 11 offensive boards but they couldn't create real separation.

Purdue and TCU exchanged the lead multiple times in the second half before Purdue asserted themselves. Near the eight minute mark KK Houser was able to strip TCU which lead to a April Wilson lay-up this turned momentum over to the Boilers and a Wilson triple gave them the lead for good. Moses and Wilson closed out the game hitting free-throws to preserve the W.

Purdue was able to keep the Horned Frogs off the glass earning a 38-34 rebounding advantage. Previously TCU was averaging a +10 advantage and almost 50 rebounds a game.

Wilson finished the game with 17 points and 5 assists. Morrissette and Clemons both reached 11 points with Clemons just missing out on the double-double with 9 boards. Houser didn't score but she had 4 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

No. 16/22 Purdue will have to play much better though as they face No. 2 Duke Thursday night in Durham. Duke is 8-0 and their average margin of victory is 32 points. The Blue Devils are led by a veteran trio who are statistical stalwarts. Senior PG Chelsea Gray is second in the nation in assists per game. Guard Tricia Liston shoots the trey better than Moses as hard as that may be to believe. Lastly junior center Elizabeth Williams is 8th in the country in blocks.

Purdue last played Duke in 2011. The then No. 13 Boilers dropped the game 64-53 to the No. 7 Blue Devils. In their seven match-ups against the No. 2 in the country Purdue has never prevailed.

Purdue will have to put together a complete game if they’re going to be competitive. Moses and Houser will both have to score and we will need production from the bigs. Guard play could be the difference though. If Purdue can put consistent pressure on the Blue Devils they can keep it close.

Once the Lady Boilers come back from North Carolina they’ll face IPFW on Sunday. They’ll have finals week off then head out to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the Jayhawks the following Sunday.