WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball dropped its first game of the season with a 76-75 loss to Florida State on Friday at the Cancun Challenge.
Madison Layden and Lasha Petree paced Purdue offensively with 15 points each. Layden notched all of her points on five made 3-pointers, while Petree connected once from distance.
Purdue (5-1) saw its four-game streak of shooting percentages over 50% come to an end as the squad hit 41.9% of its shots. The Boilermakers were 12-of-27 (44.4%) from outside, a season high for makes. Florida State (6-1) finished with a 46.2% clip from the field.
Abbey Ellis was efficient in her 28 minutes, going 4-of-6 from the field, 2-for-2 from three and 4-for-4 at the line for 14 points. Cassidy Hardin added 11, including nine from deep.
The two clubs finished level in rebounding with 38. Jeanae Terry posted her second straight double-figure game on the boards with 12. The senior added eight assists and six points.
Hardin sparked the Boilermakers early in the first quarter with a trio of 3-pointers. The fifth-year senior scored all her 11 points in the first Purdue built a lead to as many as 10 points in the opening 10 minutes on 8-of-16 shooting with five 3-pointers.
After Purdue carried a 24-19 lead though the first, Florida State came back to take a two-point lead, before Rickie Woltman's putback with 7:16 left knotted the scores at 28-28. Neither team would score again until the 3:10 mark as Purdue closed the half on a 12-6 run.
The Boilermakers carried a 40-36 lead into the second half. Florida State trimmed the gap down to two early in the third. Layden drained a pair of contested triples, and Ellis tallied eight of her points in the frame to keep Purdue ahead 59-54.
The Seminoles started the fourth on a 10-2 run to take their first lead of the game. Petree connected from distance with 5:01 to play, but Florida State quickly opened up a five-point advantage. The Boilermakers managed to whittle the gap down to one-possession several times over the final minutes but never put together a run long enough retake the lead.
Jayla Smith made her lone 3-pointer of the game as time expired.
NOTES
• Florida State leads the all-time series 3-1.
• Purdue surrendered 70 or more points to a team for the first time this season.
• Purdue tallied 20 points on 14 Florida State turnovers.
• Hardin scored her 11 points in 15 minutes of action.
• Purdue grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and flipped them into 14 points, compared to 15 Seminole points on 11 offensive boards.
• Purdue notched 17 assists on 26 made field goals.
• Purdue is now 16-8 under Gearlds when making seven or more 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
Purdue will close out the Cancun Challenge on Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. tip against Oklahoma State.