Feb. 12, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Aya Traore scored 22 points and No. 10 Purdue used a 23-0 run from spanning halftime to beat No. 11 Minnesota 63-31 Sunday and remain in first place in the Big Ten.
The Boilermakers (20-3, 11-1) led only 22-21 with less than 2 minutes left in the first half but scored the final three points of the period and the first 20 after the break, turning a close game into a rout.
Minnesota (17-6, 9-3), which came in just one game behind Purdue and Ohio State in the conference race, had four turnovers and missed its first nine shots of the second half before Shannon Bolden hit a 3-pointer with 11:50 to go. By that time, however, Purdue had taken a 45-21 lead and the Gophers never recovered.
Traore had eight points and Katie Gearlds had seven of her 14 points during Purdue's spurt. Traore also led Purdue with 19 points in an overtime win at Minnesota last month.
She was the most consistent player for the Boilermakers in a close first half of the rematch, when the Gophers couldn't hold an early lead.
Neither team led by more than four points in the opening period, and there were five lead changes and four ties before two straight baskets by Traore put Purdue in front for good and gave the Boilermakers a 22-18 lead with under 4 minutes remaining.
That was Purdue's last field goal of the period, but it didn't matter.
Minnesota cut the lead to one point with a free throw by Natasha Williams and basket by Shannon Schonrock with 1:46 before halftime.
Purdue's Lindsay Wisdon-Hylton then hit one of two free throws to start the Boilermakers' long scoring run. Cherelle George added two foul shots with a minute left to push the lead to 25-21 at the break, and Traore scored the first two baskets of the final period.
Minnesota's only baskets in the first 17 minutes of the second half were on 3-pointers by Bolden and Lauren Lacey, and the final basket by Natasha Bogdanova with 4 seconds to go gave Purdue its biggest lead of the game.
Bolden led the Gophers with 10 points. Jamie Broback, who had averaged 22 points over the past five games, was held to four points.