WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team will go for its third straight win when it hits the road on Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest at Central Michigan on ESPN+.
Tim Newton will call the action for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM.
The Boilermakers picked up their second consecutive win on Wednesday with a 92-62 victory over Howard at Mackey Arena. Lana McCarthy became the first Boilermaker since Fatou Diagne in 2020 to record a double-double off the bench, finishing with a career-high 19 points and 15 rebounds. Tara Daye notched her second double-double in three outings with a career performance of 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Madison Layden-Zay connected four times from behind the arc, while Kiki Smith chipped in a trio of triples to help Purdue finish with 11 3-pointers on the day.
GAME NOTES
• The Boilermakers picked up back-to-back wins over Miami and Howard last week. Purdue has averaged 85.5 points over the two-game stretch, shooting 54.4% from the field and 45.8% from distance.
• Purdue is 2-0 this season and 12-6 when making 10 or more 3-pointers since the start of the 2021-22 season.
• Madison Layden-Zay has caught fire over the last week, averaging 17.5 points per game and knocking down 10-of-14 (71.4) shots from behind the arc.
• One area that has given Purdue a boost over the last two games has come from the bench, outscoring opponents 81-15. Purdue is averaging 27.7 points from its second unit this season. The Boilermakers have won 44 games over the last five seasons when the bench has scored 20 or more points.
• Layden-Zay vaulted herself up to 12th in the nation and third in the Big Ten with a 55.6% clip from beyond the arc. Her 15 triples on the year ranks eighth in the league.
• Layden-Zay is 50 rebounds away from becoming the sixth player in Big Ten history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, 200 3-pointers and 50 blocks in a career, including Iowa's Caitlin Clark and Purdue's Katie Gearlds.
• Layden-Zay is set to become the 17th player in Purdue history with 100 career starts, moving out of a tie with associate head coach Kelly Komara with 99 and matching Katie Gearlds.
• Purdue has outrebounded its opponents in five games this season, including all four wins. While the Boilermakers sit ninth in the Big Ten with 28.8 rebounds per game, Purdue leads the league and ranks ninth nationally with an 80.1% defensive rebounding clip.
• Lana McCarthy has elevated her play over the last two games since moving out of the starting lineup. The Bedford, N.H., native averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in the last week, including a career-high 19-point, 15-rebound double-double against Howard.
• Taylor Fledman continues to see her role grow, averaging 11.0 points per game with six 3-pointers over the last three nights. Feldman is 77 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau for her career.
• Guard Tara Daye leads the team in rebounding with 7.2 boards per night, while averaging 10.5 points per game. Daye is one of three guards from the Big Ten to average 10 points and seven rebounds per game this season (Kiki Rice - UCLA, Jazzy Davidson - USC).
• Kiki Smith has given the Boilermakers all-around production with a team-leading 10.8 points and 1.3 steals per game, as well as 1.8 assists per night to sit fourth on the team.