Purdue Box Score
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Northwestern's heart and effort was there, but No. 8 Purdue hit shots when it needed to and edged the Wildcats, 71-63 Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena. Junior A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor Huess-Gymnasium) led the Wildcats as she matched a career-best 26 points.
"It was great for our program to come in and finish the way we did," said head coach Beth Combs. "Even hitting the last shot of the game was a small victory for us."
Northwestern became the first Big Ten team this season to score 60 points against the league-leading Boilers, and just the third to accomplish that feat all season.
Purdue jumped out to a 21-12 lead before Northwestern pulled the score to 27-25 at the half, going on a 9-2 run to close out the opening period. The two teams combined for 29 turnovers in the first half, and Northwestern converted 15 Boiler miscues into 15 points. The Wildcats out-rebounded the taller Purdue squad, 15-13.
The Wildcats opened the half with a couple of buckets, tying the score at 29 two minutes into the second stanza. The Boilermakers extended the lead to seven, but a three-pointer by Glasauer at the 14:53 mark cut the lead to 38-34.
Northwestern continued to apply defensive pressure and kept Purdue's lead to single digits until the seven-minute mark when the Boilers pulled away with the aid of an 11-2 run. The teams exchanged baskets over the next five minutes until NU cut the lead to eight, locking the final score at 71-63.
Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) recorded her 11th double-figure game of the season with 17 points. She also added a team-high six rebounds. Nadia Bibbs (Chicago, Ill./Hillcrest/Boston University) had a team-high five assists. Sara Stutz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) chipped in a career-best five steals.
Northwestern continued its solid free-throw shooting, connecting on 82 percent (14-of-17) compared to Purdue's 69 percent from the line.
The Wildcats are next in action at 7 p.m. on Thursday when Michigan State comes to Welsh-Ryan Arena.