The Purdue Boilermakers (19-11, 10-6 in Big Ten) engineered and executed a strong defensive game plan for the offensive-minded Wildcats and squeaked out a narrow victory, winning 61-59.
In a battle of two NCAA Tournament bubble teams, the upperclassmen stole the show. On Senior Day in West Lafayette, Indiana, it was Purdue’s senior point guard Ashley Morrissette that got the Boilermakers rolling. Early on, Morrissette started 3-for-3 and scored seven of Purdue’s first 13 points.
Not to be outdone, NU’s senior forward Lauren Douglas responded with an array of jumpers in the first quarter. Singlehandedly keeping the ‘Cats close, Douglas contributed seven of NU’s 14 first quarter points and would go on to have a team-high 23 points.
The rest of the Wildcats (19-10, 8-8 in Big Ten), though, struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the first half. As a team, the ‘Cats shot just 32.3 percent from the floor and coughed up eight turnovers. Senior forward Nia Coffey struggled with early foul trouble, while fellow senior Ashley Deary failed to make a shot (0-for-5) in the half.
Despite the sporadic offensive performance in the first half, NU only trailed 33-25 at halftime.
Out of the halftime break, NU became the aggressor, specifically in offensive rebounding. Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah set the tone with consecutive offensive rebounds on back-to-back offensive possessions and Coffey began to take over the scoring production. Still, the Boilermakers held on to a slight four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the midst of a 15-0 scoring run, NU finally took its first lead of the game following a Coffey three-pointer, 47-45. From there on out, the game was played within a six-point margin, changing leads multiple times.
Right as it seemed the game was destined for overtime, junior Andreona Keys dropped in a last-second layup that ultimately sealed the victory for the Boilermakers.
With the loss, the Wildcats' brief two-game winning streak came to a halt. Now 19-10, the ‘Cats pretty much need a long run in the Big Ten tournament to have any chances of returning to the NCAA Tournament. Finishing eighth in the league, the ‘Cats will play against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten tournament on March 2. In the lone matchup of the season on Feb. 16, the Hawkeyes crushed the ‘Cats 78-59 in Iowa City.