WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team sent its seniors off to a dominant 86-62 win in their final home game at Mackey Arena over Penn State on Wednesday night. The senior class accounted for 71 of the Boilermakers' points on the night.
Purdue improved to 18-8 on the year and 9-7 in the Big Ten, securing the program's first winning record in the league since 2017-18. Katie Gearlds joined Carolyn Peck and Linn Dunn as the only Purdue head coaches to post win improvements in each of their first two seasons.
The senior class put on a show, accounting for 82.5% of Purdue's point total and outscoring Penn State by nine. Lasha Petree posted her second straight outing with 23 points, going 9-of-18 from the field in her final outing at Mackey Arena.
Cassidy Hardin connected on a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 11 points. Caitlyn Harper was 7-of-9 shooting and 4-of-4 at the line to record 18 points, falling two rebounds shy of a double-double. Rickie Woltman made her first start of the year and added four points.
Jeanae Terry made more history, tallying her third non-point double-double of the season. She is the only Boilermaker to ever achieve the feat. The Detroit native went for 10 rebounds and assists, while falling one point shy of a triple-double and two steals short of a quadruple-double. Terry's eight steals tied for fifth most in program history and were the most by a Boilermaker since March 7, 2008, by FahKara Malone.
The offense churned along all night at a 51.6% shooting clip, while making six 3-pointer and going 14-of-15 at the line. The Boilermakers turned the ball inside for 48 points and scored 12 on the break.
The defense forced Penn State (13-15, 4-13) into 17 turnovers that flipped into 27 points. Purdue held the Lady Lions to 36.2% shooting, despite nine 3-pointers on the night. The Boilermakers won the rebounding battle 37-30.
The seniors got the ball rolling in the first, as Hardin, Petree and Woltman combined to start the night on a 10-0 run, forcing a Penn State timeout 66 seconds into the game. Holding the Lady Lions off the board on their first five shots, Petree and Jayla Smith capped the first quarter with back-to-back traditional 3-point plays to give the Boilermakers a 26-12 advantage.
As explosive as the first quarter was, Purdue added to it in the second with 31 points. The Boilermakers went 11-of-16 shooting to extend its lead to as many as 26 points. Petree scored 10 points in the frame, including seven straight for Purdue in the middle of the quarter.
The Boilermakers carried a 57-34 lead into the break. It was the most points in a half for Purdue since 2013 against Central Michigan and the most in an opening half since 2005 against Arkansas State. The Boilermakers shot 64.7% over the opening 20 minutes.
The hot hands cooled off in the second half. Penn State outscored Purdue 18-16 in the third quarter, closing the period on an eight-point run after the Boilermaker built the lead to 29 points with 2:25 to play.
In the fourth, Penn State cut the gap within 20 points midway through the period. Harper fought her way through contact for a tough layup to kickstart an 8-0 run that froze any potential comeback bid. While Purdue went 11-of-30 in the final 20 minutes, the defense kept the Lady Lions to just nine made field goals.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Penn State 35-23.
• Terry has finished one point shy of a triple-double twice this season, after becoming the first Boilermaker to record multiple in a career last season.
• Petree has scored in double figures 19 times this season and has topped 20 points in seven outings.
• Terry is one of 14 players nationally since 2009 to record at least eight points, rebounds, assists and steals in a game.
• Terry's 10 helpers moved her up to fifth in single-season history at Purdue, becoming the first Boilermaker in program history to have two top-five campaigns.
• Cassidy Hardin played her 138th career game at Purdue, two shy of Danielle Campbell's record of 140.
• The Boilermakers averaged 1.25 points per possession on Wednesday night, just its fourth game over 1.2 since 2009.
• Purdue is now 16-1 when holding an opponent under 70 points.
UP NEXT
Purdue will close out the 2022-23 regular season Sunday afternoon with a road trip to Minnesota. Tipoff on B1G+ is slated for 3 p.m. (ET).