WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball team will open the Elevance Fort Myers Tip-Off on Thanksgiving with a 4:30 p.m. start against Middle Tennessee.
Ryan Urquhart and Chloe Marotta will have the call on the Women's Sports Network. WSN can be found on LG Channels channel 468, Roku, XUMO channel 737, Vizio WatchFree+, FuboTV, tubi, plex and freevee.
Brian Jennings will be on the call for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM and Purdue Stretch Internet.
GAME INFORMATION
Purdue (4-1) vs. Middle Tennessee (5-1)
Thursday, Nov. 28
Time: 4:30 PM
TV/Stream: Women's Sports Network
Radio: 95.3 BOB FM
Audio: Purdue Stretch Internet
Live Stats: Purduestats.com
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue rolled to a 73-55 win over UT Arlington on Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers were led by Lana McCarthy's career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Destini Lombard recorded her first career double-double, going for 13-points and 13 rebounds. Reagan Bass added her second straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
NOTES
• Purdue and Middle Tennessee will meet for the first time.
• Purdue enters the week with 5.6 blocks per game, ranking 21st in the nation and third in the Big Ten.
• Destini Lombard is one of eight players nationally averaging over 10 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game.
• Lana McCarthy and Notre Dame's Kate Koval are the only freshmen with two double-doubles against DI teams this season.
• The Boilermakers will play their 11th game on Thanksgiving and the first since an 85-63 win over Harvard at the Cancun Challenge in 2022. Purdue is 7-3 all-time on Thanksgiving.
• Purdue enters the week on a three-game winning streak. The Boilermakers have averaged 78 points per game during the streak, while holding opponents to 62 per game. Reagan Bass has scored in double figures all three contests (19 PPG) and posted a pair of double-doubles.
• Lana McCarthy was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the first time. The Bedford, N.H., native averaged 15 points and 7.5 rebounds over wins against Bellarmine and UT Arlington while shooting 61% from the field.
• McCarthy is one of eight freshmen nationally averaging over 11 points and seven rebounds per game, joining Michigan's Syla Swords as the Big Ten's only reps.
• The Boilermakers have jumped in the passing lanes this season two games of 10 steals or more. Purdue is scoring just under 19 points per game off turnovers. McCarthy is averaging 23.8 points and 14.9 rebounds per 40 minutes.
• Regan Bass recorded back-to-back double-doubles for the first time by at Purdue since Jeanae Terry during the 2021-22 season.
• Bass has made an immediate impact this season for Purdue, leading the team in scoring (15.2 PPG), rebounding (7.6 RPG) and blocks (7). She is one of six players from the Big Ten averaging over 15 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.
• The Boilermakers will go for their fourth ranked win and second over an AP top-5 team under head coach Katie Gearlds on Saturday. Purdue defeated No. 2 Ohio State on the road in 2022-23 for the first true road AP top-5 win in program history. The Boilermakers' last neutral win over a top-5 program was over No. 5 Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament in 2006-07 when Gearlds was a senior.
• Sophie Swanson is sitting fourth on the team in scoring with 10.2 points per game. The sophomore is tied for the team lead in 3-pointers alongside Lombard with seven. She has made 48 triples in 32 career games.
• The Boilermakers are averaging 18.8 assists over their four wins this season, including a season-high 20 helpers against UT Arlington. Purdue is 20-1 under Gearlds when dishing out 20 assists or more.
• Purdue's newcomers carried the load this season with 75% of the scoring, 89% of the rebounding and 66% of assists.
• Purdue will play nine games scheduled against teams in the preseason AP Top-25 rankings and is the only team in the nation that will face four teams in the top six of the preseason Top-25.