INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A fourth-quarter surge proved too much for the No. 6 seed Purdue women's basketball team to overcome against sixth-seeded Iowa on Wednesday evening in the second round of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, falling 83-72. The Boilermakers put a trio of players in double figures, led by All-Big Ten guard Kayana Traylor with 19 points.
Traylor capped an impressive and improved junior campaign topping 10 points for the 18th time. The Martinsville native was 7-of-14 from the floor, 2-of-5 from distance and 3-for-4 at the line. She also dished out seven assists.
Madison Layden finished one point shy of her career high, also set against Iowa (16-8), going for 18 points and knocking down five triples. The Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree's five triples was one shy of her program record of makes by a rookie set against the Hawkeyes on Jan. 18.
Brooke Moore added 14 points, including a pair of triples, as Purdue (7-16) went 10-of-30, the third most attempts in a game in program history.
While the 3-point shooting kept the Boilermakers within reach of the Hawkeyes, Iowa was propelled by a combined 65 points from All-Big Ten selections Caitlin Clark, the league's Freshman of the Year, and Monika Czinano. Despite the sizable scoring tallies from the two Hawkeyes, Purdue stayed within singles digits until the 4:14 mark of the fourth quarter.
Purdue set the tone in the opening 20 minutes from outside shooting 37.5% with six makes. Traylor and Layden both knocked down a pair, while Moore and Cassidy Hardin each added a triple.
Neither club created much separation over the opening 10 minutes, before trading triples in the final 10 seconds of the frame. In the second, the Hawkeyes sprinted out to a nine-point lead after four minutes. Traylor started the Boilermakers' rally with eight straight points. Brooke Moore then poured in five points on back-to-back trips down the floor, before a Traylor layup gave Purdue a two-point lead with a minute to play in the half. Iowa sank three free throws in the final minute to take a 37-36 lead at the break.
The freshman duo of Layden and Ra Shaya Kyle evenly split 10 of Purdue's 16 points in the third. The tandem had an answer to every Iowa spurt to keep the gap within two possessions. Back-to-back triples from Layden and Moore twice gave the Boilermakers the lead.
The Hawkeyes pulled away in the fourth quarter, going on a 21-6 sprint that opened a 14-point gap. Purdue shot 41.2% in the frame and hit three triples, but Iowa took advantage of a sizeable discrepancy in free throws. Purdue went 3-of-5 at the line to Iowa's 13-of-14.
Purdue ended the 2020-21 campaign with a record of 7-15 and 4-14 in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers endured the ever-changing realities that the COVID-19 pandemic brought over the last 12 months and battled through a string of injuries. Kayana Traylor earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, while Fatou Daigne was named honorable mention and Madison Layden was tabbed to the All-Freshman team.
NOTES
• Purdue is now 40-35 against Iowa and 4-3 in the Big Ten Tournament.
• The Boilermakers suffered just their seventh one-game appearance at the league tournament in program history.
• Purdue record against the No. 6 seed is 6-2 and 4-3 in second round games.
• Tamara Farquhar capped her consistent career with seven points and six rebounds.
• In two career games against Iowa, Madison Layden totaled 37 points, six assists, eight rebounds and 11 3-pointers
• Iowa edged Purdue in points in the paint 44-22.
• Layden's streak of a steal in every game came to an end, finishing at 22, while her 3-point streak is up to 21 games in a row.
• The game featured 11 lead changes and five ties.
• Czinano's 38 points were three shy of the most scored against the Boilermakers in program history.
• Purdue hit 10 3-pointers for the fifth time this season. The Boilermakers topped that mark just six times in the previous five seasons.
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