MINNEAPOLIS – Jayla Smith called game with a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds to play to complete the second largest comeback in Big Ten Tournament history, as the seventh-seeded Purdue women's basketball team erased an 18-point deficit to beat 10th-seeded Wisconsin, 57-55, at the Target Center on Thursday night.
After Wisconsin (11-20) made a triple to take a 1-point lead with 10.2 seconds left, Madison Layden inbounded the ball to Jeanae Terry who kicked out across the court to a wide open Smith on the left wing. The 2021 Indiana Miss Basketball, who had made just six 3-pointers in Big Ten play this year, drained the game winner to improve Purdue to 19-9 on the year and give the Boilermakers their Big Ten record 46th tournament victory.
Purdue rallied from a double-digit deficit for the first time since 2021 against Florida State. It was the largest comeback since Purdue overcame an 16-point gap against Michigan in 2018.
Smith finished with six points on the night with another 3-pointer earlier in the fourth, finishing with her fourth multi-triple game of the season.
Abbey Ellis paced Purdue with 19 points with 12 points coming in the second half. The Australian played a key role in sparking the comeback in the second half. Cassidy Hardin knocked down a pair of triples to join Ellis in double figures with 10 points.
Purdue finished the game shooting 38.2% over and went 6-of-22 from behind the arc. After starting the game missing their first eight shots, the Boilermakers closed hitting 21 of 47 attempts from the field for a 44.7% clip.
Jeanae Terry continued her all-around season to finish with six points, eight rebounds six assists and five steals. It was Terry's 18th game with at least five rebounds and assists.
A lid was on the rim over the first 15 minutes of the game, as Purdue went 7-for-27 in the first half and gave up 13 points on 13 giveaways. Wisconsin's Ronnie Porter hit a 3-pointer with 4:27 to play in the second quarter to cap a 10-1 run that extended the lead to 18-points. Purdue started its comeback at that point.
The Boilermakers closed the first half on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to single digits at the break.
Out of the break, the Boilermakers continued to trim into the gap with a 17-11 edge in the third. Ellis totaled seven of her points in the frame to bring Purdue within three heading into the fourth. Purdue forced nine turnovers in the third.
Following a four-point run by the Badgers to start the fourth, Terry and Ava Learn counted to bring Purdue back within three points with six minutes to play. The Boilermakers held Wisconsin without a field goal for 2:51 in the middle of the fourth to go on a 12-2 run. Smith nailed her first 3-pointer with 4:56 to play to make it a one-point game, before Ellis finished a traditional 3-point play to give Purdue its first lead with 3:15 left.
Hardin made a pair at the line at the 2:30 mark to extend the lead to four points, before Wisconsin pulled within two on a layup on the next possession.
Purdue led 54-52 as both sides forced turnovers and missed shots until the 10-second mark when Maty Wilke made a corner three to put Wisconsin up 55-54. Head coach Katie Gearlds advanced the ball on a timeout and set up the game-wining play that fell to Smith to connect on the clutch final shot.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Wisconsin 55-22, with a 6-1 mark in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Cassidy Hardin evened Danielle Campbell's Purdue appearances record with her 140th game played.
• Ava Learn provided a key impact off the bench to finish with six points and five rebounds in 13 minutes of action, including a key block on the Wisconsin possession prior to Purdue's first lead.
• The Boilermakers improved to 17-0 on the year when holding an opponent to 65 points or fewer.
• Purdue shot an even 50% (14-28) over the final 20 minutes.
• Despite surrendering 24 turnovers, Purdue gave up just 18 points on the giveaways.
• Jayla Smith was shooting 23.7% from distance on the season entering Thursday's game.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers head into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2020 when they square off with second-seeded Iowa on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.