Sophomore guard Bridget Perry has shot 64.7 percent from the floor over the last two games.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Purdue women's basketball team ran into a buzz saw on Saturday as No. 18 Rutgers shot a scorching 52.9 percent from the field en route to a 78-49 victory over the Boilermakers at the Rutgers Athletic Center. With the loss, Purdue falls to 10-15 overall and 3-11 in Big Ten Conference play.
The Boilermakers went toe-to-toe with the Scarlet Knights over the first 12 minutes, answering every Rutgers bucket and knotting the score on six different occasions. However the absence of junior point guard April Wilson finally caught up with them as the Rutgers full court pressure went on to force 12 first-half turnovers and they build at 33-23 halftime lead on the Old Gold and Black.
Purdue answered the bell in the second half, as sophomore Bridget Perry scored seven straight points and the Boilermakers sliced the lead down to two points, 39-37, with 14:20 to play. The Rutgers pressure struck again as the Scarlet Knights mounted a 20-3 run over the next eight minutes and put the game out of reach. Rutgers shot 62.5 percent from the field in the second half (20-32), and turned 22 Purdue turnovers into 30 points for the game.
Perry was the only Boilermaker in double-figures, finishing with 13 points on five-of-eight shooting, while grabbing four rebounds. Classmate Ashley Morrissette had nine points, while senior Whitney Bays totaled six points and 10 rebounds.
Junior Kahleah Copper led Rutgers with 24 points on 12-of-17 shooting, while classmate Betnijah Laney had 16 points and six rebounds. The Scarlet Knights scored 50 of their 78 points in the paint and had 26 fast-break points in the win, improving to 19-6 overall and 10-4 in Big Ten Conference action.
Purdue returns to the court on Tuesday, heading to Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State at Value City Arena.