Jan. 10, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Northwestern made a strong second-half run, pulling to within one point, but Purdue held on to claim a 53-42 victory Sunday afternoon in front of a vocal crowd of 9,048 at Mackey Arena. Sophomore Brittany Orban (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) led Northwestern with 14 points and nine rebounds, including five of the offensive variety. Amy Jaeschke (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) added eight points, nine boards and four blocks.
Purdue jumped on the board first, but five points and several hustle plays by Orban single-handedly pulled NU into the game and enabled the 'Cats to take 9-6 lead at the 13:37 mark of the first half.
Scoring was sparse over the next 10 minutes as both teams combined to score nine points. The Boilermakers found their rhythm first, sinking triples on three-consecutive possessions to build a 24-11 lead at the 4:30 mark.
Purdue took a 26-15 lead into the locker room. Orban led NU with seven points and five rebounds while Jaeschke also chipped in five boards and added two assists and two blocks.
Northwestern battled hard and outscored Purdue 6-4 through the first eight minutes of the second stanza to pull the difference to nine, 30-21, six minutes into the second half.
The Wildcats went big personnel-wise, and it paid off. Northwestern seized momentum and outscored the Boilermakers 14-6 to pull to within one, 36-35, with just under eight minutes remaining.
Aided by strong support from the home crowd, Purdue went on a 9-4 run over the next four minutes to take a 47-39 lead. Orban once again provided an answer, drilling a corner triple to pull Northwestern to within 49-42 with 2:30 remaining.
The Boilermakers held Northwestern scoreless while converting on 4-of-4 from the free-throw line to hold on for the win.
The Wildcats are next in action on Sunday, Jan. 17 when they host Minnesota in a 2 p.m. contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena.