February 27, 1999
By HANK LOWENKRON
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Stephanie White-McCarty, the ninth-leading scorer in Big Ten women's history, found her shooting touch Saturday to lead top-ranked Purdue past Northwestern 79-59 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten women's tournament.
The senior had been a slump lately, hitting just 30 of her last 81 shots from the field.
But she scored 11 of her 24 points in a 19-2 run during the first half as Purdue took the lead to stay.
"I have no idea," she said when asked about her Saturday shooting. "I've just been shooting and working on it, trying not to focus on it so much, try not to think about it."
White raised her career total to 2,038 and needs just seven more to move past former Minnesota star Laura Coene and 22 more to pass seventh-place Cindy Haugejorde of Iowa.
Purdue's conference-record 24th consecutive victory came in what is likely to be the last game for Wildcats' coach Don Perrelli, who has announced his retirement effective at the end of the season. Perelli compiled a 251-181 mark in 15 seasons at Northwestern and is 426-252 in 23 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
Northwestern (12-16) saw its hopes for an upset fade as it went more than 6 1/2 minutes without scoring in the first half.
Purdue (26-1) will put its streak on the line in the semifinals at the RCA Dome on Sunday against Ohio State, which defeated Wisconsin 70-61 in the opening game of the quarterfinals. The Boilermakers, who are hoping to be named a top seed and host school for the opening two rounds of the NCAA tournament, defeated the Buckeyes 64-56 and 88-58 in the regular season.
Ukari Figgs had 21 for the Boilermakers, who hit 10-of-18 attempts from 3-point range. White-McCarty was 4-of-6 and Figgs was 3-of-6. The Boilermakers dominated the boards 48-31 and posted an 18-2 advantage on fast break points.
"I think it was very key for us to come out with defensive intensity. Northwestern played us tough (losing 71-62) not even a week ago. We knew we had to come out ready to play," Figgs said.
Clarissa Flores led Northwestern with 19 points.
Purdue trailed 8-5 before its run, which began with 16 consecutive points. White-McCarty, named the conference's player of the year on Friday, ignited the run with a 3-pointer to tie the game. After Michelle Duhart's layup put Purdue ahead to stay, White-McCarty scored six consecutive points.
Figgs followed with a 3-pointer and after Northwestern's Tami Sears scored to end her team's scoreless drought. White-McCarty then hit another 3-pointer to put the Boilermakers ahead 24-10.
Northwestern cut its deficit to 35-30 by halftime. But, Purdue began the second half with a 10-2 run to lead 45-32 after a 3-pointer by Katie Douglas, and the Wildcats never got close again.
"I just told them to stay focussed with their shots ... and to keep their intensity," Purdue coach Carolyn Peck said of her halftime remarks. "They did that."
"We ran into the No. 1 team in the country," Perrelli said. "We played pretty well in the first half and did some things that brought us back."
Purdue opened its biggest lead of the game at 75-49 late in the second half and had 11 of her 14 players score.
"You stop them in the middle and they kill you from the outside. You stop them outside and they push the ball down the middle," Perelli said. "Purdue was ready for us. I think they took us a little lightly the last time we played. I think they were trying to make a statement and they certainly did."
Peck said the game was another demonstration of Purdue's team-first attitude.
"This team doesn't care where the points come from," she said. "They don't care who gets the points as long as it shows up on Purdue's side of the scoreboard."