Feb. 26, 2006
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Katie Gearlds scored 19 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:02 remaining, in No. 12 Purdue's 66-63 victory over Wisconsin on Sunday night.
Gearlds hit a long jumper over two defenders to break a 61-61 tie, and Purdue (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) held on after Janese Banks' 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short for the Badgers (11-17, 5-11).
Sharika Webb converted a three-point play to give the Boilermakers a 66-61 lead. Banks' layup with 9.5 seconds left pulled Wisconsin to within three, and the Badgers had a chance to tie after Carol Duncan missed two free throws for Purdue.
Jolene Anderson scored 26 points for Wisconsin, but was shut out over the final 4 minutes. The sophomore missed a pair of free throws with 2:11 left that could have given the Badgers the lead, and Anderson's final 3-point attempt was blocked with 14.5 seconds left.
Both teams struggled at the line down the stretch.
After Anderson's misses, the Badgers' Danielle Ward made only the second of two to tie the game at 59-all.
Purdue's Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton then missed two at the other end.
Wisdom-Hylton scored 15 points despite missing nearly eight minutes in the second half with foul trouble. Banks scored 17 points for Wisconsin, including a three-point play that gave the Badgers their last lead at 58-57 with 2:50 left.
Purdue's Aya Traore and Erin Lawless had 10 points each.
The second half featured nine lead changes and five ties after Wisconsin took a 31-30 lead into the break.