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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Purdue (15-9/6-4) vs. Michigan (19-5/8-2)
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017 / 6 p.m. ET / BTN Plus
Mackey Arena (14,804) / West Lafayette, Ind.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's basketball team has won three of its last four games and looks to extend the run Wednesday, hosting No. 21 Michigan at Mackey Arena at 6 p.m. ET. While the Boilermakers have gotten it done with defense all season, leading the conference and ranking 39th nationally in scoring defense (58.0 ppg), it's the offensive game that's been clicking in the last two weeks to the tune of 76.5 points per game.
With their only hiccup coming at the hands of third-ranked Maryland, the Boilermakers have used an efficient offensive attack to earn wins at Michigan State and Illinois and over visiting Nebraska in the last 15 days. The Old Gold & Black has cashed in 49.4 percent from the field in the four-game stretch, paced by the offensive fireworks of Ashley Morrissette. The senior point guard has eclipsed the 20-point mark in each of Purdue's last three wins, including matching a career-high with 31 points at Michigan State and draining her first five triples at Illinois on her way to 23 points. She's averaging 22.3 points per game during the stretch and hitting on 47.1 percent from the field, while adding 5.6 assists and 3.5 steals per game as well.
Morrissette has received double-figure support from the youthful trio of Dominique Oden, Dominique McBryde and Ae'Rianna Harris. The three Boilermakers are shooting a combined 60.9 percent (53-87) from the floor over the last four games, each making waves in their own way. Oden is shooting 50 percent from behind the arc, McBryde is hauling in 7.5 boards per game and Harris is rejecting 2.0 shots per game.
The Boilermakers aim to continue their high-scoring output this week, hosting Why Wait Wednesday in Mackey Arena for the fans. The Purdue ticket office is offering a special for fans willing to buy early, featuring $5 lower reserved seating and $2 lower value seating if purchased before noon, Tuesday. The first 1,000 fans to arrive at Mackey will receive free Boilermaker ear muffs and be eligible for on-court promotional games.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Boilermakers picked up a 72-64 road victory over Illinois at the State Farm Center on Sunday, Purdue's first-ever at the newly-named and renovated facility
- Purdue dominated the glass 40-22, including 18 offensive rebounds, and held the Fighting Illini to the lowest rebounding total for an opponent this season and the lowest single-game rebounding total for a Big Ten team this season
- The Boilermakers scored 18 second-chance points, including 11 in the second half, while limiting Illinois to four points on six offensive boards
- Ashley Morrissette and Dominique Oden combined to hit a season-high 10 3's, including nine straight between the pair in the first half
- Purdue committed just nine fouls in the game, limiting the Big Ten's top free throw shooting team to just six attempts at the charity stripe (4-6)
- The win is Purdue's first this season when being outshot from the field by an opponent (1-7)
- The Boilermakers had 26 points in the paint, their lowest total since the Big Ten opener at Northwestern, while Illinois had only 18 points inside, the lowest by a conference opponent this season and fewest since Eastern Michigan (Dec. 17)
HEAD COACH Sharon Versyp
- In her 11th year as the Boilermakers' head coach, giving her the longest tenure of any coach in program history
- Winningest Purdue women's basketball head coach, earning 229 to date and 346 for her career, and second in program history in Big Ten Conference wins with 107
- Purdue's eight NCAA Tournament appearances under Versyp are the most under any head coach in program history
- Starred for the Boilermakers from 1985-88, scoring the 13th-most points in program history and was the fourth-fastest player at Purdue to reach 1,000-career points (77 games)
- One-of-2 Big Ten head coaches to lead her alma mater (Amy Williams, Nebraska)
- One-of-2 former Boilermakers to serve as a head coach for a Big Ten team (Teri Moren, Indiana)
#BOILERNOTES
- Purdue is tied for fourth in Big Ten play at 6-4, even with Northwestern and Michigan State
- The Boilermakers are 9-1 this season when scoring at least 70 points, including a 4-1 mark in conference play
- Purdue leads the conference and ranks 39th in the NCAA in scoring defense, holding opponents to 58.0 ppg
- When holding opponents to 60 points or fewer this season the Boilermakers hold a 12-1 record, including four of their five Big Ten wins
- The Boilermakers lead the Big Ten and rank 15th nationally in fewest fouls, committing 14.0 per contest, and 13.6 fouls per game in conference play
- Purdue also holds top-50 NCAA rankings in assist-turnover ratio (1.12), assists per game (16.1) and blocks per game (4.8)
- The Boilermakers are shooting 49.4 percent over their last four games, averaging 76.5 points per game
- Over the last six quarters the Boilermakers are hauling in 55.7 of their missed shots, securing 34 offensive rebounds on 61 missed shots
- Purdue is tied for the second-best 3-point field goal percentage defense in conference play (Penn State), holding Big Ten opponents to 30.8 percent from behind the arc
- Purdue is the Big Ten Conference leader and ranks ninth nationally in average attendance, hosting 5,803 fans per game at Mackey Arena
- The Boilermakers are 50-44 all-time against ranked opponents in Mackey Arena, including a 21-11 mark against teams ranked 16-25
- Purdue has 11 victories over ranked opponents in Mackey when the Boilermakers are unranked, including five under Versyp
- Ashley Morrissette scored at least 20 in three of the last four games, including a career-high 31 at Michigan State and 23 on Sunday at Illinois
- Morrissette is averaging a team-best 4.5 assists per game this season and the Boilermakers are 9-1 when she deals at least five in a game
- Dominique Oden has hit 38 3's this season, including five Sunday at Illinois, and now ranks sixth on Purdue's freshman record list
- Dominique McBryde posted her third double-double of the season Sunday, posting a season-high 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds
- McBryde is cashing in on 57.7 percent from the floor in conference play, good for fifth-best in the Big Ten
- Ae'Rianna Harris is ranked 11th nationally among freshmen in blocks per game, rejecting 1.8 per contest
OPPONENT NOTES
- Michigan heads to Mackey Arena ranked 21st in the latest AP poll at 19-5 overall and 8-2 in Big Ten play, coming off a hard-fought 72-70 win over Iowa in Ann Arbor on Sunday
- The Wolverines boast the seventh-best field goal percentage in the country, cashing in 47.7 percent from the field, and own the second-best 3-point field goal percentage in the NCAA at 40.7 percent
- Michigan averages 79.6 points per game on the year, good for 14th in the country and third in the Big Ten, and has the No. 8 scoring margin in the NCAA at +20.4
- The Wolverines feature one of top scorers in the nation in junior Katelynn Flaherty, who enters the week averaging 19.9 points per game, good for fourth in the Big Ten and 18th in the nation
- Sophomore center Hallie Thome has the No. 8 field goal percentage in the country, hitting 63.7 percent from the field
- Michigan rookie Kysre Gondrezick has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week five times this season, including each of the last two weeks