Feb. 8, 2001
By CHUCK SCHOFFNER
AP Sports Writer
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Lindsey Meder scored 29 points, Mary Berdo added a career-high 23 and Iowa led all the way in handing No. 5 Purdue its first Big Ten loss, 96-87 Wednesday night.
Iowa (13-8, 8-3 Big Ten) shot 63.3 percent in the first half and led by as many as 18 points before holding off the Boilermakers late to end their 13-game winning streak.
Not even the return of Katie Douglas could save Purdue (21-4, 11-1) from the surging Hawkeyes, who have won five straight and shot 55.6 percent for the game.
Douglas, who sat out Purdue's victory over Michigan last Sunday because of a sprained ankle, played 23 minutes and scored 21 points before fouling out with 32.5 seconds left. On this night, that wasn't enough.
The 96 points were the most Purdue has given up this season. The previous high against the Boilermakers had been 72 - by No. 1 Notre Dame.
Before January, Iowa had not defeated a Top 25 team since February 1998. Now the Hawkeyes have done it twice in 19 days. They beat then-No. 13 Penn State 79-64 on Jan. 21.
After a poor opening half defensively, Purdue was much more efficient on both ends of the court in the second half and clawed back. The Boilermakers got to within eight points in the first three minutes of the half and stayed within striking distance the rest of the way.
Douglas' third 3-pointer cut the lead to 82-76 with 4:19 left, and the Boilermakers had a chance to get even closer after forcing a turnover.
But Douglas hit the bottom of the backboard on a reserve layup, Iowa's Leah Magner fed Jerica Watson for a layup and the Hawkeyes made 13 of 14 free throws to wrap it up.
Camille Cooper added 19 points for Purdue and Shalicia Hurns scored 15. Randi Peterson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Iowa and Cara Consuegra handed out a career-high 12 assists.
Purdue had been allowing only 57 points a game in conference play. Iowa almost reached that figure at halftime, leading 52-36. The Hawkeyes were 8-for-11 on 3-pointers in the opening half - Meder and Berdo both were 4-for-5 - and were 19-of-30 overall.
Berdo entered the game after Magner picked up two early fouls and swished back-to-back 3-pointers before she had time to work up a sweat.
Meder hit a 3-pointer and a short jumper to finish a 13-2 run that made it 26-10 and Iowa was in control until Purdue's late run at the end. Berdo put an exclamation point on Iowa's first half by draining a 25-foot 3-pointer while backpedaling just before the buzzer.