WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In just her second collegiate game, Purdue freshman Hila Karsh dropped 24 points as the women’s basketball team pulled away to an 82-67 win over Eastern Illinois on Thursday night at Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2022-23.
Karsh went 9-of-14 from the field, 5-of-7 from behind the arc. She added seven rebounds and four assists. Karsh became the first Boilermaker freshman to score 20 points, five rebounds, and five three-pointers since Courtney Moses against Michigan on Jan. 6, 2011.
Kiki Smith posted her second straight game in double figures off the bench with 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Kendall Puryear tacked on 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Freshman Avery Gordon turned in a solid performance over 14 minutes with eight points and six rebounds.
The Boilermakers shot 51.7% from the field and knocked down nine 3-pointers. Purdue posted a plus-seven advantage on the glass and turned 10 offensive rebounds into 12 points.
After a slow start in the first quarter, Purdue scored 20 or more points in each of the final three frames. In the second half, Purdue shot over 50% from the floor and connected six times from behind the arc, finishing with assists on nine of the 17 made field goals in the final 20 minutes.
KEY MOMENTS
EIU (0-2) jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, taking advantage of five Purdue turnovers. After falling behind by as many as seven, Kendall Puryear knocked down a mid-range buzzer beater to make it a four-point deficit after one.
Purdue rolled off an 8-2 run to start the second with three points from both Tara Daye and Puryear. The freshman duo of Karsh and Gordon scored the next eight points for the Boilermakers, as the hosts opened a 33-27 lead. Purdue tallied 20 points in the second quarter at a 46.7% clip to take a 37-32 lead into the break.
Early in the third, Karsh knocked down her third 3-pointer of the night, starting a 10-2 run that opened up a 53-41 advantage with 3:24 to play. Taylor Feldman scored her first points as a Boilermaker to keep the hosts’ lead at double digits heading into the fourth.
Karsh laced another 3-pointer to start the final frame, before EIU chipped the gap down to seven. Smith went on her own nine-point run with a pair of 3-pointers, plus an and-one to put the game away. Madison Layden-Zay capped the night with her 209th career 3-pointer.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series against Eastern Illinois 7-3 with a 5-0 record at home. The Boilermakers have won five straight matchups with the Panthers, dating back to 1981.
• Purdue connected on seven or more 3-pointers for the 66th time under head coach Katie Gearlds.
• Purdue scored 80 or more points for the 21st time under coach Katie Gearlds, improving to a 20-1 record on such occurrences.
• The Boilermakers shot 43.3% from three, marking the 27th time the team shot 40% or higher from three under coach Gearlds.
• Layden-Zay moved to 33rd on the all-time Purdue scoring list with a total of 1,037 points.
• She also moved to 21st on the all-time assists list for Purdue with 293 and is one shy of entering the top 20.
• Katie Gearlds picked up her 291st win, pulling her win 300 for her career.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will have the weekend off before heading out on the road for the first time to Purdue Fort Wayne next Wednesday. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.