Purdue Women Get Drubbed by IU

In what was the worst showing by the Lady Boilermakers this season, the Purdue Women's Basketball team (10-12, 3-8) was handled by rival Indiana, 72-55. IU had little trouble dismantling Purdue in the first half and they rode that cushion to the finish. Purdue struggled at the start and kept making the same mistakes that have been plaguing them all season, and shockingly the result was the same.

Purdue took its sweet time getting into the game, missing their first three shots and turning the ball over twice. IU meanwhile racked up nine points. Purdue made some plays, Whitney Bays denied Jenn Anderson's shot attempt and assisted on Liza Clemons layup and Andreona Keys got herself to the line, to draw within three, 11-8. But that was the end of any offensive or defensive brilliance from the Boilers; At this point they had almost half of their first half points. IU went on a 9-1 run to stretch their lead to 11. The teams traded baskets for a stretch then Purdue went ice cold. With 7:24 left Purdue was down 26-17; they didn't score again before the half ended. Indiana poured it on and led 39-17 at the break.

Things weren't much better in the second half. Purdue was never able to cut the margin to single digits. They did try though. Purdue outscored IU 21-10 over the first 11 minutes of the second half to cut IU's lead to 11. On three other occasions Purdue drew themselves within 10 only to go back down the floor and let IU score a putback basket or foul them and send them to line. IU hit their free-throws, 13-17, over the last seven minutes of the game to keep Purdue at bay.

Liza Clemons led Purdue with 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds. April Wilson scored 13 points to go with four assists, two steals, and zero turnovers. Andreona Keys scored 11 to go with seven rebounds. Whitney Bays led all players with 11 rebounds. She also added six points. Bays, Clemons, and Keys committed the bulk of Purdue's 19 turnovers. Bays and Clemons had five each and Keys recorded four.

Purdue shot 38.5% from the field and 11.1% from three-point range.

A lack of depth, talent, and fundamentals have combined together for one of the program's worst seasons in recent history. This year's team has struggled shooting the ball and taking care of the ball. Consistency has been lacking from key contributors. Luckily for Purdue the back half of their schedule is lighter. Hopefully the team will be able pick up a few wins and get back to .500 to save face.

Right now Purdue is tied for 11th in the conference with Michigan State. Maryland is still undefeated and in first place. Iowa is in second place followed by three teams with 7-3 records. Maryland, Iowa, Nebraska, and Rutgers are all ranked.

Purdue won't play again till Sunday when they face off against Penn State. Penn State (5-19, 2-9) is one of two teams with a worse conference record than Purdue. Graduation depleted the Nittany Lions line-up. This year they're led by Lindsey Spann's 14.5 ppg and 3.2 apg. Sierra Moore does a lot for the Lions posting 11.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, and 3.7 apg. Candice Agee also regularly reaches double figures with 10.5 ppg and 5.9 rpg