WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team opens up a stretch of three straight games against ranked opposition Thursday night with a trip to No. 22 Illinois. Tipoff from the State Farm Center is set for 8 p.m. (ET) on B1G+.
Tim Newton will have all the action for the Purdue Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM.
GAME INFORMATION
Purdue (13-6, 4-5) at No. 22 Illinois (16-4, 6-3)
Thursday, Jan. 26
Time: 8 PM (ET)
TV: B1G+
Radio: 95.3 BOB FM
Live Stats: Purduestats.com
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue bounced back with a 75-56 win over Minnesota on Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena. Cassidy Hardin connected on four of Purdue's 10 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 14 points. A trio of other Boilermakers topped double figures with Jayla Smith posting 13, Lasha Petree with 12 and Rickie Woltman with 10. Purdue capitalized on 13 Minnesota turnovers to score 20 points.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Illinois, 64-18. The Boilermakers are 3-2 when the Illini have been ranked.
• The 64 wins are the most Purdue has against a single opponent.
• Purdue enters its toughest stretch of the year against No. 22 Illinois, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Indiana in its next three games. Purdue last faced three straight ranked opponents in the regular season during the 2000-01 campaign – No. 4 Notre Dame, No 20 LSU and No. 14 Stanford.
• The Boilermakers will face three straight ranked Big Ten teams in the regular season for the first time.
• Jeanae Terry continues her impressive streak as one of three players (Caitlin Clark - Iowa, Olivia Miles - Notre Dame) - to average six points, six rebounds and six assists this season. Terry ranks second in the Big Ten in assists (133) and assists per game (7.0).
• Abbey Ellis vaulted herself to the top of the Big Ten in free throw percentage at an 89.3%, going 50-56 at the line for the year.
• Rickie Woltman is coming off her best performance of the season with 10 points, eight rebounds in 24 minutes of work.
• Caitlyn Harper has finished in double figures in seven of the last 10 games. Nine of Harper's 13 3-pointers have come in Big Ten play.
• Cassidy Hardin made a quartet of 3-pointers against Minnesota to give her 192 triples for her career. The Bargersville, Ind., native sits sixth in Purdue history and needs just eight more 3-pointers to become the fifth player in Purdue history to join the 200 club.
• Jayla Smith has finished in double figures in her last five contests, averaging 12 points per game at a 49% shooting clip.
• Caitlyn Harper sits just three points away from 1,500 for her career. The redshirt senior is averaged 11.1 points per game this season.
• Starting a game is key for the Boilermakers, as Purdue is 11-2 this season when holding a lead after the first quarter.