MINNEAPOLIS – After rallying from a double-digit deficit in the second half, a lull late in the fourth quarter sent the Purdue women's basketball team to a 77-69 loss in the regular season finale at Minnesota on Sunday afternoon.
The Boilermakers finished the regular season 18-9 with a 9-8 mark in Big Ten play, the first winning record in league action since 2017-18.
For the third straight game, Lasha Petree topped 20 points, finishing with 26 on the afternoon on 10-of-20 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. She became the first Boilermaker since Dominique Oden in 2019-20 to record 20 points in three straight games. Petree went 4-of-5 at the line and hauled down six rebounds as well.
She was joined in double figures by Madison Layden who tallied 10 points off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers. Layden added four rebounds, an assist and three steals.
Purdue shot 42.1% overall for the game, while going 5-of-17 from behind the arc. The Boilermakers got to the line 17 times, making 16 attempts.
Despite a 55.6% clip in the first quarter, the Boilermakers found themselves trailing 20-15. Caitlyn Harper and Jayla Smith both paced Purdue with four points each. Minnesota capitalized on five first quarter Boilermaker turnovers to score nine points.
Purdue's shooting percentage dipped down to 35.7%, as the hosts were able to extend the gap to 11 at the break, 41-30. Purdue went 1-of-7 in the first half with Petree leading the way on the offensive end with seven points.
The Boilermakers quickly erased the 11-point gap with a 12-2 run to open the third, as Petree scored eight straight. Abbey Ellis gave Purdue its first lead since the first quarter with a hard drive to basket with 4:26 to play in the frame. The Boilermakers later ran off five straight points to take a five-point lead, its largest advantage of the game. Purdue was 8-of-15 shooting and scored 10 points off four Minnesota (11-18, 4-14) turnovers in the third.
Both sides traded the lead in the opening stages of the fourth, as the two sides combined to make just four of 15 shots in the first five minutes of the period. Late in the fourth with the game tied at 62-62, Minnesota benefitted from an intentional foul call with Purdue on offense to roll off seven straight points.
Petree scored Purdue's final seven points, as Purdue fell on the wrong side of a 15-7 run to close the game.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Minnesota 48-24.
• Abbey Ellis extended her 17 straight.
• Purdue was outrebounded 36-26 and allowed 10 second chance points off nine offensive boards.
• Jeanae Terry tallied eight points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block.
• Purdue scored 11 points on fast breaks to Minnesota's one.
UP NEXT
Purdue will enter the Big Ten Tournament as the seventh seed and will face the 10th-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon. Tip from the Target Center in Minneapolis is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (ET) on the Big Ten Network.