WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team will hit the road for the second straight game on Tuesday night when it faces its first ranked opponent of the season in No. 23/20 Kentucky. Tipoff from the Historic Memorial Coliseum is set for 7 PM.
Tiffany Greene and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and former Purdue head coach Carolyn Peck, who led the Boilermakers to the 1999 NCAA National Championship, will be on the call for the SEC Network.
Tim Newton will bring you the action for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM, as well as on the expanded statewide network.
The Boilermakers hold a 2-1 series lead over the Wildcats. The two clubs met in back-to-back seasons in 1999-00 and 2000-01, both Purdue wins. The Wildcats made their first visit to Mackey Arena last year to pick up their first win in the series.
Purdue will also square off against alumna Lindsey Hicks, the Kentucky associate head coach. Hicks played in 126 games for Purdue from 2001-04 and helped Purdue win three Big Ten titles and reach four NCAA Tournaments, including the 2001 NCAA National Championship Game.
GAME NOTES
• The Boilermakers are going for their fourth ranked win under head coach Katie Gearlds and their first since knocking off No. 2 Ohio State during the 2022-23 season. All three of Purdue's ranked wins over the last five seasons have been away from Mackey Arena.
• Hila Karsh has finished in double figures in all three games this season, averaging 18 points per game while shooting 61.3% from the field. The native of Rishon LeZion, Israel, is fourth in the nation in freshman scoring and leads all Big Ten rookies.
• Karsh ranks seventh among Big Ten freshman with 5.0 rebounds per game, while her 2.3 assists per night is tied for sixth among league rookies.
• Karsh is one of six players from the Big Ten to average 18 points, five rebounds and two assists per game this season and the only freshman on the list.
• Kiki Smith sits second on the team with 15.3 points per game behind a team-high eight 3-pointers. Smith sits fifth n the Big Ten with 2.7 3-pointers per game.
• Tara Daye is Purdue's third player in double figures this season with 10.3 points per game, after setting a career high with 13 points last week at Purdue Fort Wayne. She is leads the team in rebounding with 6.0 boards per game. Daye is off to the best start of her career after averaging 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in the first three years of her career.
• Madison Layden-Zay needs five assists to become the 20th player in Purdue history to join the 300-assist club.
• Layden-Zay is on the cusp of making Big Ten history as the sixth player in league history to amass 1,000 points, 200 3-pointers, 500 rebounds (needs 60), 300 assists (5), and 50 blocks. She would join Iowa's Caitlin Clark, Michigan State's Tori Jankoska, Indiana's Amanda Cahill, Ohio State's Jaz Shelley and current Purdue head coach Katie Gearlds.
• Purdue is 31-30 all-time against teams currently in the SEC. Tuesday will be the second time the Boilermakers have faced an SEC foe on the road in the Katie Gearlds era, following a 59-53 at Texas A&M in 2022-23.
• With two wins on the year, head coach Katie Gearlds moved within nine of reaching the 300-win plateau for her career that includes three postseason bids at Purdue and two NAIA national titles while leading Marian in Indianapolis.