Purdue Women's Basketball Keeps Even Record

Sunday afternoon Purdue (4-4) battled hard but fell short against Dayton, losing to the Flyers 63-61. Dayton lead wire-to-wire. Versyp mixed up the starting lineup but it didn't quite have the desired effect. Purdue wasn't able to slow down Ally Malott and Andrea Hoover who both poured in 20 points for the Flyers.

Dayton struck first, Malott and Hoover started hot scoring the first seven points of the game. Purdue got on the board with a Hamby free throw. The teams traded blows through the early part of the first half before Dayton began to separate themselves from the Boilers. Purdue drew within two with 12:11 left but never had a chance to tie or take the lead after a Malott jumper. Dayton led by as many as 13 before halftime. At the break Purdue was down 36-26. The Flyers scored 17 points on fast breaks in the first half.

Dayton scored first in the second half but Purdue quickly answered. Bridget Perry scored five straight and Whitney Bays added a layup to close the margin to five. Dayton later stretched the margin back to eight which was their largest margin the rest of the way. With 12:07 left Purdue was down 50-42. The Boilers fought hard and hung around with Dayton. Whenever Purdue cut the margin to one or two Dayton answered. Purdue made their last push starting at the 2:04 mark. Whitney Bays hit two free-throws to cut the lead to three. The Flyers answered with a free throw. On the ensuing possession Ashley Morrissette's three dropped through and Purdue was down one with just under a minute left. Purdue sent Dayton to the line and Amber Deane only hit one. The Boilers went hard on the offensive boards and when Morrissette missed a three Purdue grabbed the board. April Wilson's three-point attempt missed and Bays wasn't able to convert the offensive board into a basket. Dayton finally grabbed the rebound but when Purdue fouled them they missed both free throws. On Purdue's last possession Morrissette missed another three with two seconds left.

Whitney Bays had a complete game with 19 points, 18 boards, and five steals. Bridget Perry also reached double figures with 15 points.

Purdue's shooting woes continue to plague them. The Boilers shot 30.7% from the field and 12.5% from three-point range. Purdue was able to outrebound Dayton 51-41, 19 coming on offense.

Thursday night Purdue hosted Kansas and won 61-48. Purdue shot the ball better and played tough defense against the Jayhawks to come up with the win.

In the early going the teams traded baskets and the lead back and forth. Down 17-14 Bridget Perry started a 12-0 run with a four free-throws. The Boilers forced four turnovers during the run and turned them into eight points. Kansas eventually scored again and teams again traded baskets till the end of the half. At the break Purdue was up 32-25.

The two teams picked up right where they left them. Three minutes into the second half Ashley Morrissette hit a triple to give Purdue their largest lead up to that point, 40-29. Kansas however strung together an 11-4 run to cut the margin to four. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks they wouldn't get any closer the rest of the way. Over the last 4:27 Purdue outscored Kansas 10-3 to seal the win.

Purdue forced 23 turnovers which they turned into 24 points. Purdue shot 38.8% and was 2-5 from three-point range.

Whitney Bays led four Boilers in double figures with 19 points, six rebounds, and three blocks. April Wilson put up 13 and dished four assists. Bridget Perry also scored 13 points during the contest. Ashley Morrissette scored 12 to go with four assists. Liza Clemons only had four points but she did plenty of other things for Purdue; six rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and four steals.

Purdue's starters stepped up and played well. The starters accounted for all of Purdue's points. The only substitute to see significant playing time was Andreona Keys, 11 minutes. Hayden Hamby was out with a concussion.

The Lady Boilermakers next game will be against UC Irvine December 19^th as a part of the Basketball Travelers Invitational hosted by Purdue. Denver and Wright State are also participating in the Invitational. Purdue will play the Denver Pioneers on Saturday and then the Wright State Raiders on Sunday. These are the last non-conference games before Purdue opens B1G play at Illinois on December 28^th.

UC Irvine is 1-7 this season. Their lone victory came against Grand Canyon who has only been competing at the Division I level for a couple of seasons. Mokun Fajemisin paces Irvine with 11 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Their next leading scorer is Methlyn Onogomuho with 9.4 ppg and 7.4 rpg

Wright State is 4-2. They also suffered a close defeat at the hands of Dayton, losing by three. Tay'ler Mingo leads Wright State with 26.2 ppg, 4 rpg, 4.5 apg, and 3.2 spg. Breanna Stucke nearly posts a double-double with 9.7 ppg and 9.2 rpg. Tayler Stanton pulls down 12.2 rpg to go with 7.7 ppg. Indiana native and former Purdue assistant (03-06), Katrina Merriweather is on the staff at Wright State.

Denver is 2-7. Paige Bradley leads Denver with 11.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, and 3.9 apg. Morgan Van Riper-Rose is the team's second leading scorer with 10.2 ppg. DU head coach, Kerry Cremeans, previously spent seven seasons on the Purdue sideline as an assistant (96-03). Assistant Seth Kushkin was assistant at Purdue at the same time (97-99).