Jan. 1, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Senior Ava Traore matched her career-high of 23 points to lead No. 18 Purdue to a 61-59 victory over No. 7 Ohio State on Sunday.
Ohio State's Ashley Allen had a chance at a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired, but her shot bounced off the rim, giving Purdue (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten) its sixth consecutive victory.
Purdue trailed 33-24 at halftime after missing eight consecutive shots from the field. Ohio State (9-2, 1-1) took its first lead as Marscilla Packer scored eight consecutive points in an 11-point run.
The Buckeyes State shot 50 percent (13-for-26) and limited Purdue to 37.5 percent (9-for-24) shooting from the field in the first half. Ohio State also shot 6-for-10 from 3-point range.
Purdue scored seven consecutive points to start the second half, including six by Traore. The Boilermakers had their biggest lead of the half, 54-48, with 7:52 remaining, but Ohio State countered with five straight points to get back into contention before missing the final shot.
Packer led Ohio State with a career-high 19 points, shooting 5-for-6 from behind the arc. Jessica Davenport, Ohio State's leading scorer with an 18.4 average, was limited to five field goal attempts and 10 points.
Erin Lawless scored 12 for Purdue, and Sharika Webb had 10 points and 10 rebounds.